


Lily and James' First Adventure

by aaalex21



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Death Eaters, F/M, Fantasy, Gen, Gryffindor, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-26
Updated: 2013-11-19
Packaged: 2017-12-27 16:13:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 26,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/980980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aaalex21/pseuds/aaalex21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Lily Evan's and James Potter's first year at Hogwarts, but the impending war with Voldemort looms over their heads. This is a spin on how Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter met, and an idea of the shenanigans they all got into. Hope you enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lily

Lily

Chapter 1

 _I'm where I belong,_ thought Lily Evans. _I have something that not a lot of non-magical girls have. I have magic. I'm a witch or wizard. Whatever you call them. Now I can make friends. My sister was the only one who didn't seem too excited about it._

Lily Evans, an eleven year-old witch with brunette hair and toad green eyes, was going to shop for her school supplies. She had only gotten a letter a month ago and her and her parents have been planning this trip for a week. They were so proud of her. They always wondered what was so different about her. Everybody had.

She was so different from everybody else. Her sister was the most beautiful girl at school and the most popular. Although she was popular, she still found time to hang out with her. She was always nice to Lily. Even when they were at school she would see how her day was going. Now Petunia didn't want anything to do with her. Lily invited her to go to Diagon Alley but, Petunia said she was doing something that day and couldn't.

_I wonder if I'm the only person who has non-magical parents. What if people make fun of me for that? I don't care. They can say what they want about me or my family. I'm sure I'll make good friends._

"Lily. We're here." Lily's mother was a nice woman and worked as a housewife to spend more time with her children. She had brunette hair and baby blue eyes.

"You ready, sweetheart?" Lily's father was a strong man and had a high paying job as the CEO of a major industry. He had dark brown hair and toad green eyes.

They all walked into The Leaky Cauldron. That was the place the letter told her to go. She could remember exactly what it said.

Hogwarts School

 _Of_ Witchcraft _and_ Wizardry

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_

By Miranda Goshawk

 _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot

 _Magical Theory_ by Adalbert Waffling

 _A Beginners' Guide to Tranfiguration_ by Emeric Switch

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

by Phyllida Spore

 _Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

by Newt Scamander

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_

by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

Non-magical parents of magical students. Please wait in the Leaky Cauldron for myself. My name is Albus Dumbledore and I will be waiting by the fire all summer for anybody who needs help getting in. Thank you for letting your child participate in the magical world. Please do not tell anybody that your child is magical. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Albus Dumbledore

Albus Dumbledore

Headmastrer of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"How do we know who Albus Dumbledore is?" Lily asked her parents.

"Honey, it’s Mr. Dumbledore. I'm sure he will know us when he sees us. He is the headmaster of the school," Lily's mum said in a sweet voice.

Lily was excited and frightened. She didn't know what these people were going to be like, like her and her parents or crazy people who didn't like outsiders. The suspense was killing her. What would it be like in there?

When they walked into the room it looked like an old establishment. It had wooden tables and chairs. It also had a bar full of people in robes. There were waiters and waitresses in black robes serving the people at the wooden tables.

Something caught Lily's eye. She saw a big fire place with a man in red robes sitting next to it. The man had a long silvery beard and pointed hat. She walked over to the man and when she reached him, he looked straight into her eye and said,"Hello Miss Evans." His voice was very raspy but sounded like wisdom coming from the mouth of a genius.

"Mr. Dumbledore?"

"Call me Professor Dumbledore. That is what we call our teachers at Hogwarts, my dear." He looked up and saw two people walking up to the bartender and asking questions. "Those are your parents I'm guessing." Lily turned and saw her parents talking to the bartender.

"Yeah."

"You have your mother's hair and your father's eyes." He turned his head and called to her parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Over here." Mr. and Mrs. Evans walked over to the man. "I am Albus Dumbledore the headmaster of Hogwarts. Would you like me to take you to Diagon Alley?"

"That would be great!" Lily said in a very excited tone.

"Then let us proceed to the stores and shops."

"Do we need to get money?" Lily asked.

"Don't worry about it, my dear. There is a way we can work out your situation. We've been doing it this way for the past two centuries. I will explain this to your parents soon, but right now let us get you your school supplies."


	2. James

James

Chapter 2

_I knew I'd get a letter. Everybody in my family got one. Mine just came late. We're going shopping for my first wand and everything. This is going to be a great year. I'm so excited. I'm going to explore the first chance I get. Get away from the family and look around. This will be great._ _Today is going to be a good day._

James Potter is a boy who came from a long line of wizards and witches. He has jet black hair and dark blue eyes. He has two other brothers and they already went through the seven years of school. He has always lived in the shadow of his big brothers. He was a smart boy but he didn't really want to work.

James has always been a trouble maker. His parents tried to get him to be good and act like his big brothers but that didn't work. James was just curious and couldn't help it.

"Hey mum. Can we use the floo powder, please?" James asked as they were about to leave.

"Of course we can. That's the only way you're going to get there without using magic", James' mom said. She was very nice. James looked like his mother. She had jet black hair and blue eyes just like him but his brothers and father were different. His father had brown hair and brown eyes. He was a stern man who believed in principles, while James' mom was a free woman. She didn't like to be told what to do and when to do it.

"Well, let's go. We don't want to get there and everything be closed."

"Alright, mom. Dad not going?"

"What do you think? You know how busy he is."

"Yeah. Busy ignoring me."

"He loves you. You're just not like your brothers. You're special and I love you just the way you are."

"Thanks mum."

They used the floo powder and found themselves in the Leaky Cauldron. Professor Dumbledore was sitting next to the fire.

"Hello, Mrs. Potter. Hello, Mr. Potter. How are you today?"

"I'm especially well today, Dumbledore," replied Mrs. Potter.

"Where is Jack?"

"He doesn't like me because I'm not like him," James said in a monotone voice.

"James, don't say that."

"Well, well, Mr. Potter. I always agree with speaking your mind but when you get to school, if you could, try and hold your tongue."

"I'm so sorry Dumbledore."

"There is no reason to be sorry. I know how Jack can be. He only thinks about himself. I warned him about that when he was in my office." Dumbledore turned to James and said to him, “He was in my office quite a few times. Let's hope I never have to see you like your brothers."

"I'll try, Professor."

"Who are you waiting for, Dumbledore?" James' mom asked.

"I'm waiting for a muggle born child. She is very smart and powerful."

"She sounds like a very good student."

James walked away. He didn't want to listen to this conversation. He walked over to the bartender and asked for a pumpkin juice. He saw a man that he knew and his father didn't get along with. So James figured he would like him. James' mom walked over to him when she was done talking to Dumbledore.

"We should go right now."

"Why?"

"Because the guy your father doesn't like is here and I'm not a big fan of him either."

Right when they were about to go up to the entrance to Diagon Alley, a man called his mother's name. It was Abraxas Malfoy. James' dad and him didn't really get along. James had always wondered why.

"Helen." he said in a very smooth, mysterious voice.

James mother made a face before turning around. "Abraxas."

"How have you been?"

"Great. Listen, we have to go shop so if you don't mind..."

"Please, my dear. You know you could have been mine instead of that high strung Potter fellow."

"I married him because he wasn't a stuck up, stubborn, person who doesn't know how to be sensitive. Now, if you'll excuse me, my son and I have to go shopping." When she turned to walk away, Abraxas grabbed her arm.

"I didn't excuse you." When Abraxas touched James' mother, his blood started pumping hard.

"Let her go," he said threw gritted teeth.

"Well. Who might you be?"

"James Potter."

"Well, I have a little boy about your age. Lucius, get over here.” A little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes came over to them."This is my son."

"Seems you got over my mum very easily."

"Your mom will always have my heart. I just had to pass down the Malfoy genes."

"You're still holding my mother's arm."

"What are you going to do, Potter?" said Lucius in a sneer of a voice.

"I'll go over and get Professor Dumbledore to fix this mess. He’s right over there." Abraxas and Lucius looked over and found Dumbledore talking to a little girl with brunette hair and green eyes.

"Fine. We know when we've lost a battle."

"But you haven't won the war." said Lucius.

Whenever they left, James' mother turned to him and smiled a soft smile.

"Well. It looks like you just made your first enemy." Then they both started laughing. "Let's go get your supplies."


	3. Lily

Lily

Chapter 3

When they were walking up the steps, a man and a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes ran into Lily and Dumbledore. He had a defeated look on his face. She didn't like him or his son, as she assumed.

_They look really mean. What is their problem? They didn't even apologize to her or her parents as if he didn't like her for having non-magical parents. I don't like him._

Dumbledore lead them up the steps and they ran into a mother and her son. Dumbledore seemed to recognize them.

"Ah. Mrs. Potter. I thought you would have already been gone into Diagon Alley."

"We had some difficulty but nothing serious." Professor Dumbledore turned to Lily's parents and said, "I am sorry for my bad manners. Mr. and Mrs. Evans this is Mrs. Potter. Mrs. Potter this is Mr. and Mrs. Evans."

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. This is my son, James Potter."

"Well it's nice to meet you Mrs. Potter," said Mrs. Evans. "This is our daughter, Lily Evans." Lily just stood there not really listening to the conversation."Lily. Say hello."

"Oh, sorry. Hi." Her father gave her a look saying, _What else do you say?_ "I'm very pleased to meet you both."

"It's nice to meet you, too." James said. It seemed like he wasn't paying any attention, either.

"Helen, do you mind showing them around Diagon Alley? I have some business that I just remembered about."

"Of course. Right this way."


	4. James

James

Chapter 4

_She's beautiful. I can't believe my luck! I get to show a beautiful girl around and it's only my first day as a real wizard. That brunette hair and those green eyes. I will make her mine. We will get married and have many children, I just know it. Her voice is like angel's singing a herald or hymn. She will be mine. Even if it takes seven years to eternity._

They were walking up the steps and James moved to the back of the group with Lily. He made up his mind, he was going to sweet talk Lily into being his, but he didn't want his mom to see him. She didn't want him to even think about girls yet, but he couldn't help it, he's a guy.

"Hi there, sweet cakes."

"What did you just call me?"

"I just called you sweet cakes, darling."

"If you're interested, don't be because I'm not. So you keep your hands to yourself and your eyes in the air."

"Oh come on, muffin cake."

"And don't call me any names."

"So I can't call you pumpkin, my little sweetheart, or the love of my life?"

"No."

"Alright, my little princess."

"I told you not to call me any names."

"You said I couldn't call you pumpkin, my little sweetheart, or the love of my life. Little princess was not on that list." Lily rolled her eyes and went up closer to her parents.

"This is how you can get into Diagon Alley. It is very simple. You just tap on the six bricks." Mrs. Potter tapped on the six bricks and the door opened. You could see the Alley when the door was finally open. There were many people walking around. Lily had her mouth open and James thought _, She even looks beautiful when she's in shock._

 


	5. Lily

Lily

Chapter 5

_What a pig! He thinks he can sweet talk me into liking him? Why do boys have to be stuck on what you look like rather than personality? This is why I tried to stay away from boys in middle school._

When the door opened, Lily's mouth dropped. She was so amazed by magic. All these shops behind one wall and nobody knew about it. Nothing could ruin this moment. Not even James was that bad.

"This is the owl shop. This is where you buy an owl to send and receive letters. This is how everybody keeps in contact with their parents." Mrs. Potter instructed. James had already snaked his way back to the front with his mother. _Maybe he'll stop bugging me._ Lily thought. Although she knew he wouldn't stop until he found someone else to obsess over.

As they continued to walk around, Lily noticed that they had stopped in front of a big crowd. _Why did we stop and what's going on up there?_ she thought. _Is somebody hurt?_ She couldn't see a wink over all those people. So she stealthily snuck to the front of the crowd.

Lily saw a man screaming:

"They are infiltrating our territory. They kill many people each week. They kill wizards, witches, and, even have the nerve to kill innocent, muggles. We need to stop them before they find a way to our children. They are probably among us right now, watching our every move, waiting for the right moment to attack." The crowd was thinning out as the man kept talking.

Lily had a weird feeling in her stomach. She didn't know what it was. She turned her head and found James standing next to her. He had an air to him that was so intense. She turned her head back towards the man and blushed. _He must have been standing there the whole time. Maybe he knows what the guy was talking about._

"What was he talking about?" she asked. James had a glare in his eyes that wasn't there before. He sighed then finally answered.

"He was talking about werewolves. There are more and more kids becoming werewolves each day. Some people want to kill the children who are bitten but I want to know why! It's not their fault they got bit!"

Lily could tell that James was being serious. _For once he isn't trying to impress me. Great! The one time he's not trying, he gets me impressed._

"I agree with you. People shouldn't kill other people. It's just barbaric and it's not right. Whoever thinks that, is stupid."

"It's inhumane that's what it is! Only pureblood families think that. I don't even know how you can tell if you're a pureblood or a muggle born?"

"That's another thing. What is a muggle?"

"Non-magical folks. You know, like your parents."

"Who was that man that left you and your mom whenever we started to walk over?"

"Abraxas Malfoy. He had a thing for my mom and still does. He was trying to get my mom to leave my dad for him."

"If he likes your mom, why did he have a kid? That doesn't even make sense."

"He wanted to pass down the family name. Pureblood families do that. It doesn't make sense to me either. Come on. Let's go get fitted for our uniforms," he said in a peppier tone. He started walking away when Lily and James realized they were holding hands. Lily pulled her hand away because she didn't want him to get any ideas. _How could I have let him hold my hand?_


	6. James

James

Chapter 6

_She let me hold her hand! I knew she would come around. Even though I let my true feelings about werewolves out. What was I thinking? She probably thought I was a weirdo. And how did we get to hold_ _hands? I don't even remember when we started holding hands. That guy speaking got me really upset. I probably shouldn't have gone up there with Lily._

The shop was in a bustle. There were many kids trying to get school uniforms in this store. There was a woman running around to each child measuring them and running back to get clothes.

"Maybe we should come back later." Lily suggested.

"That's alright. My mom knows the lady who runs this place. She said she would help us as soon as we were ready. So, are you ready, my flower?" Lily gave James a strong, long glare before replying yes.

James knew Lily would like this lady. She was a very nice lady. James also asked the lady to find out her favorite everything. He wanted Lily to fall madly in love with him. He wanted to know everything about her, her old boyfriends, her family, her relatives, everything.

The lady came up to James and said "How about you go first James? Show Ms. Evans how to do it."

"Alright."

The lady took James in front of a mirror and measured him.

"So, how are your brothers? Still growing I guess."

"Yeah. They're good. They're both aurors now. They're hot on the trail of Voldemort." The lady shuttered at the name.

"Don't say that name."

"It's just a name. Saying somebody's name can't hurt anything. It empowers him. That's the whole point of the name. If you have a name everybody doesn't say, it just makes it even worse."

"Well I won’t ask Lily a wink if you say that name again. You got that?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Now, here are your clothes." She walked over to Lily and said," You're next." James walked away so he could let the lady work. He didn't want to be around when she found everything out.


	7. Lily

Lily

Chapter 7

_My first real set of clothes! No more hand-me-downs from Petunia. These clothes will actually fit me. James looks really professional in that uniform or should I say robes now. I don't know. It's like I have to learn a whole different language. I'll figure it out sooner or later._

"Lily." Lily was in a daze. "Lily, I know I'm handsome but you don't have to stare." That remark jolted her back into reality.

"I wasn't staring at you."

"Oh, no? Well it was worth a shot. You're next."

Lily saw James leave and was relieved. She didn’t want him to see her in uniform. She wasn't used to wearing too many skirts.

"What's your name, my dear?"

"Lily Evans."

"Such a pretty name. Is that your favorite flower as well?"

"Yes."

"It makes sense to me. Where is your family?"

"My parents are here, probably checking out different shops."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"I have a sister."

"Is she with you today?"

"Why are you asking so many questions? Did Potter tell you to do that?"

"Now you're going to call him Potter?"

"Might make him go away and get the point."

"Well he didn't put me up to it. It goes much quicker if I talk while I measure."

"Sorry. I just got angry because we just met and he's already trying to sweet talk me."

"It's just lust, my dear. That's all."

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Go ahead and talk."

"Do you like dark chocolate because that's my favorite kind."

"Yeah. I like to let the chocolate melt in my mouth."

"Do you have any friends?" Lily didn't want to lie to the lady. The truth was, she didn't even have one friend. She was an outcast. A nobody.

"No." Lily said in a low muffled voice. The owner stopped and looked at Lily heartfelt manner.

"Oh. I'm sorry, my dear. It must have been hard for you." She paused for a moment not knowing what to say. "You know, James is a very good kid." Lily gave the lady a long hard look of dislike. "I mean as a friend. He is very loyal. Once you become his friend, he stays your friend. Besides, he has it hard enough with his brothers. He has to be just like them. It isn't easy either."

"Why does he have to live up to his brothers?"

"His brothers were always better than him in everything. Now they're powerful Aurors chasing You-Know-Who."

"You-Know-Who?"

"You don't know who You-Know-Who is?"

"Muggle parents."

"He is the most evil wizard ever."

"Is he the most powerful as well?"

"No, no. That's Albus Dumbledore. You-Know- Who is afraid of Dumbledore."

"Oh. So you were talking about his brothers."

"Yes. What about them?"

"Well there has to be something he's better at."

"He is better at Quidditch."

"Quidditch?"

"It's a type of game wizards and witches play on broomsticks. It's much easier to explain when you're actually watching the game. Any way, he is the best seeker I have ever seen and I have seen plenty. I think the longest time it's taken him to catch the snitch is half an hour."

"Is it hard to catch the snitch?"

"Yes. It's extremely hard to catch the golden snitch. Unfortunately, Mr. Potter doesn't like Quidditch. He wants James to become an Auror like him. Mr. Potter treats James like a nothing." She ran off to get the school clothes. "Here you go. New school robes. One more thing. Don't tell James we were talking about him okay?"

"Alright. I promise."

James was standing outside the shop. It looked like he was in a fight.

"You all right? You look like you got in a big fight and who is that?"


	8. James

James

Chapter 8

_Now that I have Mrs. Honeybaker asking Lily everything she likes, I can relax. If I go outside she'll probably like it better. I wish she could see how much I love her. I mean, I don't trust anybody. When I'm around her, I feel like I can tell her anything. It's like she is the missing piece to my jigsaw puzzle._

James was outside watching Lily through the window.

Suddenly, James heard a crash across the street. There was another crash. And another. James thought it was coming from the alleyway.

James ran toward the alleyway to see what was going on. He saw a kid crouched up by the dumpsters. He looked scared of something. Then a bigger, stronger kid came into view.

James didn't know whether to stand and watch or help. Apparently, his feet thought for him. He ran up to the older kid and jumped on his back. The older kid was trying to shake him off but he couldn't. James was used to hanging on to things tightly. The older kid was trying to punch him now, but James was used to that, too. Since James played Quidditch, he had to hang onto his broom whenever someone was cheating. He, also, had to dodge bludgers, which came in much harder and faster than this kid’s punches.

James started to sense the kid was getting tired, so he said to him "you give up? Because I can do this all day." Which was a lie but the kid didn't have to know that. The older boy started to wheeze so James let go.

"You stop bullying this kid or I'll come back and whip your butt again. You got that?" The boy shook his head yes and ran off. "Doubt it," James said in a whisper. _I don't think he's ever gotten it._

James turned around and saw the kid still lying in the garbage. He was a skinny, little with brownish blonde hair. The kid still looked scared.

"You all right?" the kid just shook his head yes. "My name's James Potter. What's your name?" The boy didn't answer for a moment. He looked like he was trying to decide whether to tell his name or not.

"Remus Lupin," the boy said in a timid, low voice.

"Remus Lupin. It's nice to meet you." James stuck out his hand to help out Remus stand up.

"I should've asked if _you_ were all right."

"I'm fine. I'm not the one who got hit."

"No. But you were the one who got punched."

"I did? I didn't even notice." James hadn't realized it. He's been hit so many times, that it doesn't bother him anymore. "Is it bad?"

"No."

"All right. Well let's go."

"Go where?"

"Well to meet my soon-to-be-girlfriend. The only thing is, you can't steal her away from me. Friends don't steal other friend’s girlfriends."

"You consider me a friend?"

"It looks like you need one."

"But you don't even know me."

"Well that's only a minor hill. We can talk on the train. Sound good?" Remus shook his head yes. "Now let's finish getting our school supplies." Then they both started walking toward the uniform shop.


	9. Remus

Remus

Chapter 9

_A friend. I've never had a friend before. Everybody usually runs away from me. What a minute. What am I thinking? I can't have a friend. I'll hurt him. I won’t be able to control myself. I can't tell him what I am. He might turn me in to the authorities. Professor Dumbledore won’t let him do that. I'll tell him when the time is right._


	10. James

James

Chapter 10

_What will Lily think if I told her what happened? Hopefully she will like me more. I'll just tell her the truth. I was outside and this kid was getting beat up. So I went to help him out. She will appreciate that. She is a sentimental person._

"Potter. Are you listening to me?"

"Huh. Oh sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked what happened to you."

"Oh I got in a fight."

"Why?"

"You see, miss, some big kid started beating me up and James came and helped me out." That was the first real sentence that Remus had said all day. "Sorry for my rudeness. My name is Remus Lupin."

"Well it's very nice to meet you, Remus. My name is Lily Evans."

"Well then. Now that we're all acquainted with each other, why don't we go get our supplies. I'm sure we can go get our wands."

As they were walking, they met up with Lucius Malfoy. Lucius was a very mean kid. He didn't like anybody who wasn't of pureblood. It was in his family.

"Well, well. If it isn't James Potter."

"Lucius. We don't want any trouble."

"Well it looks like you have found trouble."

"Listen... What is his name again?" Lily asked.

"Lucius Malfoy."

"Listen, Malfoy. We're just going to go get our wands, so if you'll excuse us." Lucius grabbed her arm as soon as she walked past him.

"You're not going anywhere you filthy little mudblood."

"Why you little prick. Take that back," James said in a furious voice.

"What's a mudblood?"

"It's a nasty way of saying muggle-born," Remus explained. Lily stood there for a minute.

"That's it!? You think that is going to offend me!? What do you think I'm going to do? Fight you? That's not going to happen."

Lucius looked at them as if she were joking.

"My goodness! You are so immature!" Remus looked at Lily and wanted to laugh. Lucius was just gawking at what she said. James was just angry at Lucius. _First, his father tries to take my mother away. Now he is insulting my soon-to-be-girlfriend. His family is really barking up the wrong tree._ "Now if you'll excuse me."

"I'm not finished, yet."

"Is there a problem, Malfoy?" said a boy of about the same age as the other three kids. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He looked like he was very rich.

"Stay out of this, Black."

"Is that all you're going to say after my family bailed you out of that crisis?" Malfoy looked disgusted. "Now let the girl go." Malfoy hesitated, then let her go. He walked off still looking disgusted. "The name's Black. Sirius Black."

"Well thank you, Siruis. My name is Lily Evans."

"Very nice to meet you, Ms. Evans."

"Remus Lupin."

"Very nice to meet you."

"Thanks for the help," James said half-heartedly. "My name's James Potter."

"Ah. So you're the new Potter. You don't look anything like your brothers. Everybody has been saying you're completely different." James didn't like where this kid was going. "I mean that in a good way. I'm different from my family. I'm sure you've heard of us Blacks. I think my next door neighbor is betting on which house I'm going into." James smiled at Sirius. He knew in his heart that Sirius and him would get along just fine.


	11. Sirius

Sirius

Chapter 11

_James seems like a very cool kid. He even has a black eye to prove what he'll do to defend himself. I wonder how he got it though. I mean who gave it to him. I know about him. His father is a man who wants James to be like him and his brothers. James can do what he wants. I, also, heard that James is an excellent seeker. I know what he's going through and he probably has a good idea what I'm going through. I need somebody who'll let me stay over at their house. The first chance my parents get, they'll disown me._


	12. Lily

Lily

Chapter 12

_Finally someone who treats me right. Remus doesn't say much, but he is considerate. I feel so bad for him. He looks like he has had a rough life. I thought I was headed in the right direction. Then that stupid kid Lucius Malfoy. He's such a mean kid. It seems like his father didn't hug him enough. It was a good thing Sirius got there when he did. Malfoy had his wand in his hand ready to fire a shot at James. That wouldn't be very pretty._

"Would you like to join us?" James asked Sirius.

"I would be delighted."

"I know this is kind of random, but who is You-Know-Who?" They all looked at her as if she was some kind of weirdo. James had that look in his eye again. That look that said he was going to say what he felt and not care what other people think.

"Voldemort," James said plainly. Sirius and Remus looked at him like he just said a curse word. "Most people don't like to say his name. I say why not. It's just a name. A name never hurt anybody. He can't appear just by calling his name."

"I'm glad you think that way," Sirius said. "I've been trying not to say his name for years. I agree with you. It's not going to hurt anybody."

"Fear of a name is a fear of the person or thing itself," Remus added in a voice that sounded like years of wisdom.

They walked into a shop that had this message on the door:

Ollivanders:

Makers of Fine Wands

since 382 b.c.

Mr. Ollivander was in the back. He looked over at the four kids.

"Ah. I know two of you. James Potter," he pointed at James, "and Sirius Black," he pointed at Sirius, "but who are you two children?"

"Lily Evans."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Remus Lupin."

"Same to you. Now let us find Mr. Potter his wand. Try this one. It is the one your brother has." James gave it a wave and something crashed in the back. "No. Let us try this Mahogany and unicorn tail hair. Eleven inches." James touched it and a sudden wind came through. "That is quite strange."

"What is?"

"Your wand, apparently, is nothing like your parents or brothers. Normally, the wand will be the same type as the parents. All right, Sirius, you already have yours. So let's have, Mr. Lupin. Let's see. Try this cypress and unicorn tail hair, ten and a quarter inches." This time, Mr. Ollivander found the wand in no time. "I thought as much. All right, Ms. Evans. Your turn. Let me see. Willow, dragon heartstring, ten and a quarter inches." Lily touched it and the same thing that happened to James and Remus happened to her. "Thank you for coming to my shop. Hopefully we will never have to meet again."

They left Ollivander's shop to find James' and Lily's parents. They didn't know how they would find them in this busy street.


	13. Chapter 13

_Lily_

Chapter 13

_I need to find a girlfriend. Someone I can tell everything. Someone I can tell gossip to and talk about boy bands with. I don't need three boyfriends. That is just too much for me to handle. I'll experience more changes and mature faster. I'll find one on the train._

When the four kids found their parents, they got a room at the Leaky Cauldron. Sirius found his parents but stayed with James and Remus. Remus, they all found out, didn't have parents so he stayed with James as well. Lily got her own room, but the boys kept wanting to come in. After the fifth time knocking on her door, she caved in and let them in.

"Hey, Lily. Do you know any girls yet?" Sirius asked.

"Nope. I've been hanging with you three, today. How am I supposed to find a friend with three boys following me everywhere."

"Well that wasn't nice," James said.

"I'm not trying to be nice. I need to find a friend of my own."

"I know someone. If you want to find a girl," Remus said. James nudged him as if saying, _Don't give her any ideas._

"Thanks but no thanks. I think I can find my own friend. Now, you three need to go into your own room. I'm going to bed." After they left, Lily felt like there was something wrong. Something just didn't feel right in her stomach. _What is that?_ She thought.

Lily shrugged off the feeling and went to sleep. Lily woke up to a crash in her room. She sat up and looked around but couldn't see anything. She felt something in her room but couldn't see who or what it is. She finally switched on her light and saw a man, sitting in the chair across the room.

"It's so good to see you, my dear. Did I wake you?" The man had a cold voice that sounded like he had hate in his heart. He had brown hair that fell down to his eyes. He had a black cloak on. Lily could feel darkness falling across the room. "Lily Evans. Is that right? That is your name?" Lily didn't answer. He was reaching into her mind. "Are you afraid, darling?"

"No. Just unprepared. Since you already know who I am, who are you?"

"You should know me by now. First day as a witch and you've heard of me. My name is Lord Voldemort." Lily knew that it was him. He had a sense of power to himself, and he had this sense of structure and leadership. _He must have many followers. He seems like he is a leader and nothing more. Course, I could be wrong. He could get his hands dirty. Maybe he likes doing it himself. Killing people, I mean._

"What do you want?"

"I want you. You're a powerful witch. Smart and witty. Apparently not afraid of much. You could have a wonderful life with my group and me. What do you say?"

"I say you are very mistaken about me. I don't mingle with men who think killing people is fun."

"That's too bad. I wonder if I had your friends, you'd change your mind." He snapped his fingers and in came men with cloaks on. There were two kids in the middle. _Remus and Sirius. How did he know? I don't really care about James but these two were nice to me. What do I do?_

"You need to give me a moment to think. This could change my life forever."

"You don't have long."

"Oh but if I don't think about it, how do you know I'm not going to think through one of your plans. You know, not jump to any conclusions." _What do I do?_ Lily felt a strange feeling in her and turned to Voldemort. "Voldemort, stop reading my mind."

"You see, that's why I want you. You know what I'm doing and when I'm doing it. Oh and just to tell you. I can't read your mind you're that powerful. I'm, also, going to try and grab your friend James. He is more powerful than his two brothers and father combined."

"James? You want James Potter? Why? He's annoying."

"I want powerful people. We can deal with annoying parts later." Suddenly, a rush of light came crushing through the door. It was a very blinding light. _Who can make a light that bright?_


	14. Chapter 14

James

Chapter 14

_Man it's late. I should sleep but I have a weird feeling about tonight. Something just isn't right. My head's telling me go to sleep but my gut says go get a glass of water. Or is that my stomach. I guess I'll go get something to eat or drink. My gut hasn't lied to me yet._

James left his room and went down to the bar part of the Leaky Cauldron. The bartender wasn't there because it was after hours. So James jumped over the bar to find the refrigerator. Once he jumped over the bar, three men in black cloaks came in.

"Find the girl first," one of the men said. His voice sounded like it glided across the room. "Lily Evans will join us or her friends will die."

"My lord, what if the boy will not join?"

"James Potter will join us or his friends will die as well and I'll do it. I haven't killed somebody in two weeks."

"What if they both don't join us?" one of the men said. The man in charge pulled his wand out. "What I mean is, they're the most powerful wizards of their generation. We need them both."

"This is _my_ plan. I know what I'm doing. I know we need them both so we can get them to get married and have a powerful son or daughter. Maybe even two. Now you two go up to Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black. I'll call whenever I need you." The man that was the leader headed toward Lily's room. The other two headed toward James' room. _I have to warn Dumbledore._ _Where would Dumbledore be?_

James ran to the fire place to where the floo powder was.

"I hope this works. To Albus Dumbledore's office." He dropped the powder into the fire and stepped into the fire.

He finally got there. It was the Professor's office alright. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk.

"Mr. Potter, what is it?"

"Lord Voldemort is trying to recruit kids. He wants Lily Evans and me. I didn't know what else to do."

"My boy, you did the right thing. I can't help Ms. Evans make a decision, though."

"My friends are in danger. He's trying to get her and I to join by force and not by ourselves. Please help."

"You do have your wand, right?"

"Well yes, sir."

"You've been around your brothers long enough to know a couple of spells I'm assuming."

"Well, yes, but what does..."

"You're going to help me. I can't call anyone on such short notice."

"What about the fact that I'm under aged." Dumbledore waved his wand and a piece of parchment went into James' pocket.

"There's your permission note from me. Now let's go."

Dumbledore apparated with James by his side. They ended up in front of Lily's door. Dumbledore blast the door open. James didn't know the spell that he used but knew a few spells to use. When they ran into the room, there were two men in cloaks, two kids in pajamas, Lily in her bed staring at the door, and Lord Voldemort in an arm chair.

"Albus Dumbledore. How did you find out?" Voldemort asked in shock.

"Tom, you need to stop this now. This child doesn't want to be a part of your group."

"Never call me Tom. My name is Lord Voldemort and you know you can't make up the mind of this girl. Let her decide."

"Actually, I was waiting for somebody to help. So the answer to your question is no. Never in my or you lifetime."

"I believe that was her answer," James said.

"James Potter. How are your brothers and father doing?"

"That is none of your business."

"Well it should be my business seeing that they're the ones hunting me. I think it's only fair."

"Don't tempt me, Voldemort."

"Well, well, somebody who isn't afraid to say my name."

"It doesn't install fear in my book," Lily commented.

"Mine, either," Sirius said.

"Same here," Remus added.

"Well then why don't you say it?" Voldemort asked.

"You want me to say it? Alright. Voldemort," Lily said.

"Voldemort," Sirius repeated.

"Voldemort," Remus said.

"Well, Tom. It seems like you don't scare these children. I think you'd better go now. Unless you'd like me to take you in."

"Dumbledore. We'll be back. Mark my words, we'll be back. Let's go." Voldemort and the other two were gone in a flash.

"You three alright?" Dumbledore asked.

"I almost had a clear shot at him," Lily whispered to herself.

"Ms. Evans, it's a good thing you didn't because you are an under aged wizard. You could be charged with losing your wand and never learning magic. I'm glad you were on your guard, though. Now, I suggest we all go to sleep. It's been a long night and Voldemort won’t be back while I'm here." Dumbledore stepped out the door. "I'll be sitting right in the hallway if you need anything."

The children went into their own rooms. _This was an exciting night. I hope he never tries that again._ James knew he would, though. He had to keep his guard up twenty-four seven. This was going to be a long year.


	15. Chapter 15

_Lily_

Chapter 15

_I couldn't sleep a wink last night. Voldemort asking me to join him gave me the creeps. That would be horrible. He kills people. I think he tries to scare people into being his loyal servants. What a prick. Only somebody who is desperate would ask kids. Which means he needs more followers. So not many people really follow him on their own. They're all scared not to follow him. That means he'll try to influence young kids like us. I have a bad feeling about this._

Lily was packing her stuff up for the train ride. She looked at her ticket again and again. She couldn't stop reading it.

**Hogwarts Express**

**Platform 9 3/4**

James said he'd show her how to get there. He said there was a trick so muggles won’t find out about magic. He also said, even if they did find it, they'll leave instantly because they remembered a doctor’s appointment or something like that. _Today I'm going to find some girlfriends of my own,_ she thought. _I'm not going to hang out with James._ She walked into James' room. The door was open so she figured it was safe. James was the only one in there.

"Where's Black and Remus?" she asked.

"They're going to meet me in one of the compartments on the train. I assume you don't want to sit with us on the train."

"Well I wasn't planning on it."

"You probably want to find some girlfriends that you can gossip with and do whatever else you girls do. I understand you need your space."

"Alright. Who are you and what have you done with Potter?"

"I just thought you might want some space is all. I'll still ask you to go out with me every day. That will never change, my flower."

Lily and James walked downstairs to the common area. Abraxas and Lucius Malfoy were at the bar. It looked like they were waiting for something or someone. Lily didn't like either of them. They had a bad sense around them that Lily didn't like. Lily looked at Abraxas' cane for a moment. It had a snake head on it. The fangs were protruding out of its mouth. It had silver as its head but the cane was as black as night.

"What is he waiting for?" Lily asked.

"For us to make a wrong move," was James' only reply.

"Why us?"

"Some people say that he is in with Voldemort but nobody's proved it yet."

"I'm guessing he lives a secret life. No friends or parties or work."

"Oh no. He works in the ministry. I forgot what it's called but it's a very powerful position. As for friends, if you count people who are made to be your friends, then he does. Nobody really likes him except for a few people."

"No wonder why he's evil. Voldemort became his friend when no one else would. It's so obvious."

"That's one thing I didn't understand. Why does he want us?"

"The next generation. We're the strongest wizard and witch of our generation. You do the math."

"So you think he really wants us to have a kid?"

"Exactly." Now they were outside. "Think about it. _If_ we had a kid, and I'm saying _if_ not will, he would be extremely powerful. Maybe even powerful enough to kill Voldemort."

"Are you saying that if we had a kid, he could kill Voldemort?"

"Sounds logical, doesn't it?"

"Does this mean you'll marry me and have a kid who'll defeat Voldemort and save the world from complete evil?"

"Let me think, ummmmm...no. I'm just posing a logical theory. Nice try, though." They were walking toward the train station now. It was only a mile or two away and they would be early anyway. "What if we both teamed up?"

"Teamed up to do what?"

"Defeat Voldemort. If we are the strongest and smartest, we can outwit him and kill him for good."

"I don't know. I really don't want to become an Auror.”

"What's an Auror?"

"An Auror is a person who chases evil things. For example, Voldemort, werewolves, etc."

"So you don't want to kill werewolves that are evil?"

"I only want to kill the ones who got bitten on purpose. Then that one person would bit his other friends who'd want to be a werewolf. It's a never ending chain that I wish would stop."

"Do your brothers kill werewolves?"

"Yeah. I don't like to talk about them. They don't understand me. Do you want to know the greatest Auror ever?"

"Sure. Who?"

"Van Helsing."

"I've heard of him. I was reading about him. Was he a wizard?"

"He's something like that. I'll tell you what I think. I think he's an angel type person."

"You think he's angel?"

"You know, muggles call it angels, we call them immortals. It's a bit farfetched I know but that's what I think. People said when he killed Dracula, Van Helsing got bitten by the vampire. That's impossible. He was a werewolf when got bitten, which means..." Lily interrupted James.

"Which means he couldn't die from the bit because werewolves can only die by a silver bullet." James looked at her in amazement. "I told you I read about him."

"Read about him, yes. You know a lot more about him for just reading about him."

"I have a photographic memory in a way. I can just store a lot of information at one time."

"Now we know that we have something in common."

"You memories easily, too?"

"No. We both like werewolves and Van Helsing." Lily smiled at James. "I think he's still alive."

"Who?"

"Who have we been talking about? Van Helsing. I think he's just retired."

"Did he kill werewolves? I mean the innocent ones."

"Not that I ever heard of. I've only heard of him kill evil things. Like ones who wanted to be werewolves and kill more people. He doesn't like magic."

"Really? I wouldn't think a wizard would not like magic."

"Yeah, he uses weapons that he makes himself." Lily looked at James as if he was obsessed with Van Helsing. "I'm not obsessed. I just read a lot about him. It's no big deal."

"Uh-huh," Lily said in disbelief. "There's the train station."

Lily and James walked into this train station. They met their parents by the pillar in between Platform nine and ten. Lily's parents had a cart with them. The first thing Lily noticed was a snowy owl.

"You got me an owl? Thank you so much." She ran over and gave her mom and dad a big hug.

"The only reason we got you one, was so you could write everyday to us," Lily's mom said.

"What are you going to name him? Choose wisely. We found out the first name you call it will be the last name you call it." Lily thought for a moment, then remembered a name.

"Harry," she said. Lily's parents frowned. Lily didn't care if they liked the name or not. It was her choice, not theirs.

"I like that name," James said to break the silence. "Let's get to the train. Just do what I do. Don't think about how weird it looks." James took his cart and ran at the column. Once he got to the column, he ran right through it. Lily thought he was going to crash but he went straight through.

"I love magic," Lily whispered to herself. Then she took her cart and said goodbye to her mother and father. Then she ran through the wall. James was standing on the other side waiting for her. It was another train station. The train said:

**Hogwarts Express**

"I'm going to do this while your hands are full." James kissed her on the cheek and ran on the train. Lily forgot she had stuff in her hands.

"You'll pay for that, Potter!" she screamed at him. She tried to move toward the train but all her suitcases fell out of her hands and onto the floor.

"Would you like some help?"a boy said. He was probably thirteen. He had a thick Scottish accent. He had light brown hair and aqua blue eyes.

"Thanks," Lily said.

"Oh, it's no problem. I remember what my parents made me pack. They even made me pack a stationary." Lily chuckled a little.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I have one in one of my many suitcases."

"Don't worry, I'll teach you a spell that'll put everything in one suitcase."

"I don't even know your name." She was chuckling while she said this. _I guess this is what they call flirting._

"Sam Holbiet."

"Lily Evans." He put her stuff in one of the suitcase holders.

"It was nice meeting you, Lily."

"Nice meeting you, too, Sam."

Lily found an empty compartment and went in. She took out some of the wizard's money. She was determined to figure out how to use it. Now the train was in motion, she put the money away and sat there for a moment. Then a girl walked in.

"Can I sit with you? The people I was sitting with earlier were so rude."

"Sure."

"My name's Kelsey Holbiet."

"Lily Evans. It's nice to meet."

"It's nice to meet you, too."

"I think I met your brother."

"Is his name Sam?"

"Yeah."

"What did he want?"

"He just helped me with my bags."

"I'm surprised. He normally waits to be nice to girls in the first year. He waits to see what house they get. You must seem really nice to get his attention like that."

"What are the houses?"

"Muggle born?"

"Yeah."

"Me, too. My brother and I got lucky. We're both magical."

"That's cool."

"Oh I'm sorry. When I get excited I forget. Houses are like your homes when you're away. My brother's in Gryffindor. I hope that's what I get. There's Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. You don't want to get into Slytherin. There isn't anyone that got into Slytherin that hasn't come out evil."

"That's kind of creepy."

"Yeah."

"Let's hope that we get in the same house then."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, you are my friend, right?" Kelsey sat there for a minute.

"You consider me a friend?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I've never had a friend."

"Well that makes two of us."


	16. Chapter 16

Kelsey

Chapter 16

_Lily seems really nice. I bet we'll be really good friends, if we get into the same house. If not, I'll have to make new friends all over again. Hopefully I'll get into Gryffindor. That is my favorite house. If I get into Slytherin, I'll kill myself. Those people are rude and don't understand the meaning of the word friend. Friend to them means somebody who runs slower than you. This is going to be better than the muggle school and I get a fresh start._


	17. Chapter 17

James

Chapter 17

_Ha ha. I did it. I gave Lily Evans a kiss. That was awesome! Maybe she felt the spark that I felt. She'll talk to me again. I know she will. This is going to be so cool. No father or brothers for a whole year. Nobody telling me that I should act more like my brothers instead of being myself. Mom is the only one who really lets me be me. I'm going to miss her so much. She's the only thing that I have to leave behind. I'll write her every day. I remember what she told me before I got on the train. 'Be yourself and you'll find that people will realize that you're not your brothers or father. You are your own person.' If anything happens to her I don't know what I'd do._

James was walking down the hall when he ran into this big guy. He looked familiar to James but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Do I know you?" James asked. The kid looked at James then walked away. "Well that was rude."

James continued down the hall to the last compartment. This compartment had Sirius, Remus, and some other kid that James didn't know. James walked into the room and sat next to Sirius.

"Who’s this?" James whispered to Sirius.

"Peter Petegrew. He just got here a minute ago, said there was no more room."

"Oh," James turned to Peter and said, "Hello, my name's James Potter."

"Peter Petergrew." He had a small voice. It seemed like he was very shy and not very sociable.

"You all right?" James asked.

"Yeah."

"You don't talk much, do you?" Sirius asked. Peter just looked at him.

"We better get our dress robes on," Remus said.

"Yeah. That sounds good," James said.

When they got their robes on, James was the first one to break the silence.

"I wish Lily were with us right now."

"You are obsessed with her," Remus said.

"Did you ask her out?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. Three times. I don't know what it is about her. Every time I see her, I get butterflies. Every time she says hi, I feel like I'm going to melt. Every time I see her walk by from a distance, I can't take my eyes off her. She's smart, pretty, and she's stolen my heart."

"Who’s Lily?" Peter asked.

"Well, well, well, it looks like we've gotten the kid to speak," Sirius said.

"One whole sentence," James chimed in. "We've made progress, Dr. Black."

"Yes, we have, Dr. Potter." They both started laughing. Peter smirked.

"Since you're going to be our friend you might as well know. Lily Evans and I are going to get married."

"Did you tell her?" Remus asked.

"Tell her what?" James asked.

"What I told you to tell her."

"Oh yeah. I did. She looked really surprised."

"What else did you talk about?" Sirius asked.

James coughed, "Van Helsing."

"You didn't." Remus said in astonishment. "I told you not to. Girls really don't like to hear about people killing things."

"Van Helsing only killed evil things."

"You know the saying," Sirius said, "When things go bump in the night," James joined in at the end, "we bump back." They started to laugh.

"Really. She liked talking about it. Get this. She's read about him. She knows about as much as I know. She seemed really interested in the subject. She even asked if that's what I want to be."

"James. That's a woman you need to go out with. She likes what you like. It's perfect," Sirius said.

“One problem," Remus said, "She doesn't like you. You could try to make her but that's a twelve to eighty-eight ratio."

"Eighty-eight being my chances?" James asked.

"No. Twelve being you chances. Let her have her space and she'll come around."

"I don't know about that," Sirius said. "All the girls that I've gone out with want you to chase them, give them flowers, and sweet talk them."

"And how many girlfriends have you had?" Remus asked.

"Twenty-five," Sirius said.

"Did you count the french girl?" James asked.

"No. I forgot about her. Twenty-six."

"You've only known each other for two days and you act like you've known each other forever," Remus said.

"We couldn't sleep last night," James said.

"We had nothing better to do," Sirius finished.

"I don't remember that," Remus said.

"You passed out," Sirius said.

"No that sounds like he fainted. You were really tired. We'll just say that."

Sirius and James started to laugh. Even Peter let out a little chuckle. Remus just rolled his eyes and picked up a book.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you guys, I kissed her."

"Lips or cheeks?" Sirius asked.

"Cheek. Her lips were covered up from all the suitcases her parents made her pack."

"I saw her," Peter said quietly and quickly. "Some guy was helping her carry her bags." James looked like a ghost. He didn't think about her liking another guy. _I just need to shake it off. He might be just a fling. I'm the real thing._

"James?" Sirius asked. "You all right?"

"Yeah. It's all right. She'll like me by the end of these seven years. I know it."

Peter got up and was grabbing his stuff.

"What are you doing?" James asked.

"I'm leaving. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," Peter said quickly.

"No. Don't leave," Sirius said.

"You don't have to be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong."

"All right?" Sirius asked.

"All right," Peter said in a low squeaky voice.

The rest of the ride was smooth. They really didn't talk after that. They just enjoyed each other’s company.


	18. Chapter 18

Peter

Chapter 18

_I'm so nervous. I've never had a friend before. Now I have three. Knowing my luck, I'll be put in a different house. I'm just not friend material. I don't know how to be a friend. I just know how to take care of myself. No one else. This should be an interesting year._


	19. Chapter 19

Lily

Chapter 19

_A girlfriend. Somebody to tell my deepest secrets to. Someone who won’t judge me if I do something wrong. What do I do with her? What do I tell her? Everything? I don't know. I still don't understand that 'house' thing. How do they put us in them? I'm so confused._

Lily had just gotten her dress robes on when there was a knock at the door. Kelsey peeked to see who was there. When she opened the door, she found nobody. Then she looked down and found a book with a note on it. The note read:

_Dear Lily Evans,_

_The spell that I was talking about earlier is in this book. Go to the third floor corridor. There are a set of bathrooms. Go there at ten o'clock. I'll be there._

_Sincerely,_

_Sam Holbiet_

_the guy who carried your luggage_

_P.S. Bring the book._

"Well, well, well, Lily. You have a gift."

"What?"

"Somebody sent you a book. There's a note with it as well."

"Are you going to bring it in or leave it out there?" Kelsey picked up the book and set it on the seat next to Lily. It had a brown, worn cover and looked very old. It had ancient writing on the cover that Lily couldn't read. The pages were old and torn.

"He must really like you."

"I don't want to go out with him."

"Why not?"

"Don't you think it'd be awkward for us?"

"If you like him, go out with him. If there is no chemistry left, dump him. Our friendship will not change. I insist."

"You sure?"

"I wouldn't have said that if I didn't mean it." The train started to slow down. "Just like my brother. Always waits until the last second."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He decided to bring you that book at the last minute. Right before we got to the school. Look out the window." Lily looked out the window and saw a big castle. It was lit up and looked magnificent to her.

"It looks like a Scottish castle."

"Actually, it's a lot bigger than a Scottish castle. I live in one. You can come and stay with us if you want to. My folks won’t mind."

"I'll hold you to that." There was somebody walking down the corridor.

"All first years, please step outside. All first years, please step outside the train," said a big booming voice.

"That's us," Kelsey said.

Lily grabbed her knapsack and put the book inside. She wanted to read some before she went to see Sam. It was dark outside. There was a giant man standing at the opposite end.

"Who's that?" Lily asked.

"Hagrid," said a familiar voice. Lily turned to see James standing right behind her. Close behind James was Sirius and Remus. There was also another kid but she didn't remember him. "He's the game keeper."

"Don't sneak up on me like that, Potter."

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend?" Sirius asked. He was staring at Kelsey.

"Kelsey, Sirius, Remus, and James." She pointed to each of them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kelsey," Sirius said in a suave voice. Kelsey just giggled. Lily rolled her eyes.

"All right. Firs' years follow me," Hagrid called.

They all followed Hagrid to a bunch of row boats that rowed themselves. There were a lot of them there.

"All right. Two per boat, please." Lily and Kelsey jumped into one. Lily didn't want to sit next to James. James and Sirius jumped in the next one and Remus and Peter got into the other one.

The ride to the castle was peaceful. There was no noise. When they got inside the palace, James came up and grabbed Lily's hand. Lily jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. Kelsey looked at Lily and smiled.

"Wait here for a moment." Hagrid said and left. A woman came from the top of the steps. She was wearing a green robe and hat. She looked like she was in her late twenties. She had her hair in a tight bun.

"I am Progessor McGonagall. Follow me, please." Her voice was crystal clear. "Wait here." She walked close to the big oak door in front of them until she heard her cue. Then she came back and said,"Walk in a line of two, please." The first years assembled themselves in two rows. James managed to change the places with Kelsey. Kelsey was now next to Sirius. Sirius and Kelsey's eyes were locked.

As they walked through the Great Hall, Lily noticed the ceiling was like the night sky. There were stars out and everything.

"Pretty neat, huh?" James said.

"Yeah."

Lily saw Sam and he saw her when she walked by and winked at her. She blushed and he turned back around.

"Is that him?" James asked to himself, but Lily heard what he said. Lily didn't pay any attention to him. Somehow he found out about Sam but she was not going to let him get in the way of her life. They all shifted into a blob in the front of the table Dumbledore was sitting.

"Let us start sorting our first years, Professor McGonagall," was all he said. There was a hat on the stool.

"When I call your names, come up to the chair and have a seat. You will be sorted into Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, or Slytherin. Then you will proceed to join your house for the dinner." She pulled out a long scroll and read the first name.

"Keith Armstrong." A handsome boy with red hair and green eyes walked up to the stool.

Lily turned to Kelsey and said," I think he's Irish."

"Yeah. I think you're right." Then they chuckled.

"Gryffindor!" The hat exclaimed.

"Did the hat just talk?" Lily asked.

"Yeah. Isn't that wicked?"

"Hufflepuff!" It cried again.

"Sirius Black." Everybody in Slytherin were prepared to clap their hands. The Black's were a very respectable Slytherin family. They are pure blooded to the bone.

"Gryffindor!" The hat shouted. All the Slytherin's looked surprised.

"Oh, now I really hope I get into Gryffindor," Kelsey said.

"If you like him, go ask him out," Lily said.

"Lily Evans," Lily was surprised they called her name so soon. She walked up to the stool, determined not to look scared. She took a seat on the stool and waited.

"Gryffindor!" Lily jumped off the stool and walked to the table. The teacher called a few more names, then called out Kelsey's name. In short, Remus nad James got put into Gryffindor. Even the kid that was next to Remus got into Gryffindor. Malfoy was put into Slytherin. Those were the only people Lily knew. When the last person ran to Ravenclaw table, Professor Dumbledore rose out of his chair.

"Welcome first years to Hogwarts and welcome back to the older students. May I remind everybody that the enchanted forest is off limits. Now, I know I'm hungry so, dig in." Dumbledore clapped his hands twice and food filled all the tables. All of the first years gasped as they saw food on every inch of their table.

"I think I'm going to like it here," Kelsey said. Lily heard someone say her name but didn't see who it was. Then she heard it again. "Did somebody say your name?" Kelsey asked.

"Oh good. I thought I was going crazy."

"Are you Lily Evans?" the boy sitting next to Kelsey asked.

"Who wants to know?"

"This note is for Lily Evans."

"Thanks." Lily opened the note and read. Then she giggled a few times.

"What's so funny?" Kelsey asked with her mouth full of roasted chicken and baked potato.

"Your brother, that's who. Here." Lily handed the note to Kelsey. It read:

Dear Lily,

Congrates on getting into Gryffendor. Now we can hang out in the common room. The common room will be packed. Meet me outside the common room at nine-thirty.

Sincerely,

Sam Holbiet

P.S. Make sure my sis doesn't stuff her face. Love ya sis.

"Too late," Kelsey said. Then she stuffed some mashed potatoes in her mouth. "Are you going to meet him?"

"Only if I have your blessing."

"Let me think...um...of course."


	20. Chapter 20

James

Chapter 20

_She just had to flirt with him. I wouldn't mind if it was somebody else, but Sam Holbiet is too much. He's the most popular guy in school. Captain of the Quidditch team and wicked awesome keeper. He's one of the smartest kids in school. The worst thing is, he's a goody goody two shoes. I'm going to watch them every step they take together. I'll check on his back ground and find something. What I need is to find out what he put in that note._

"You're doing it again," Remus said.

"Doing what?"

"Starring at Lily. She won't like you if you keep starring at her."

"Sirius. You know who she likes right now?"

"No, but I'm guessing you're going to tell me in a minute."

"Sam Holbiet."

"She likes Sam? Does he like her?"

"Yup."

"Tough luck, chum. I'm going to ask Kelsey out."

"The year just started and you're going to ask someone out all ready?" Remus asked.

"Yeah. Pretty much." Remus rolled his eyes and took a bite of his roll. "You need to eat, James. No girl is worth starving yourself for." James held his hand up in front of Sirius's face. "Are you telling me to be quiet?"

"No. I'm telling you to hold that thought. Look." Sirius looked at Lily. She had a note in her hand. She smiled and looked down the table at Sam. "We need to get that note."

"All right, mate. If it makes you happy, I'll get the note."

Dumbledore was standing up now. "Heads of the houses, will you please lead the first years to their dormitories. Tell them the password and show them their rooms. Have a good night’s sleep." Dumbledore walked out of the Great Hall through the back door.

The heads of the houses stood up to direct the first years to the dormitories. James turned to say something to Sirius but he was already gone. James was puzzled. He started walking with Remus and Peter, when a hand fell on his shoulder.

"I got it, mate."

"You got what?" Remus asked.

"A note from Sam Holbiet to Lily Evans."

"They gave it to you?" Remus asked.

"No."

"How d'you get it?"

"He picked her pocket," James said. "Thanks."

"No problem. I could have done it in my sleep."

"Could you teach me?"

"Course I could. It's really simple. We'll start lessons tomorrow. Now read the note. I'm dying to know what pretty boy wrote." James read the note to them. "That slimy dog. He's all ready got her hooked."

"I don't blame her," Remus said. "After hanging out with us, she wants someone who'll be nice to her and not call her, 'my flower.'"

"You're just jealous because James' has found the perfect woman for him and you didn't."

"What do you want me to call her? My nematod? I don't think so."

"Call her by her name. Maybe she'll respond better."

"All right. I'll try that."

"So we gonna follow her or what?" Sirius asked.

"Of course. We need a map or something to show us all the secrets of this school."

"That's improbable. We'll die before we find one."

"You're probably right."

"Cool dream, though," Sirius added.

When they reached the dormitories, Remus seemed tense.

"You all right, Remus?" James asked.

"Yeah. You look more pale than usual," Sirius added.

"I have to go see Professor Dumbledore," was all he said and ran off.

"Well, there wasn't anything weird about that," Sirius said sarcastically. James laughed. "What was that about?"

"Only Remus know," James replied.

They found their rooms with four beds. The one on the end had Remus's suitcase, the one in the right middle had James' suitcase, the one next to his had Sirius' suitcase on it, and the last one had Peter's stuff on it.

"Wicked room," Sirius was the first one to speak. "What time are they meeting?"

"Nine-thirty. It's eight o'clock right now. So we have about an hour to do something."

"Why don't we unpack?" Peter suggested.

"He speaks," James said jokingly. "You really don't have a lot to say, do you? You haven't said anything since we got off the train." Peter just shrugged his shoulders.

"I prescribe three sentences a day," Sirius said in an important way. Peter shook his head yes.

"Now that we have that settled, let's unpack."

They unpacked all their clothes and snacks. They made their room look more like home. James put two posters beside his bed. One is of Carl Chiggum, a great Quidditch player, and Van Helsing. His mother found it for him. She said it wasn't easy finding it but she did. She told him "You better put that up at Hogwarts. I didn't buy it for no reason."

"It's almost nine. Let's go down to the common room and wait for Lily," James stated. He didn't want to miss her leave.


	21. Chapter 21

Lily

Chapter 21

_I'm so nervous. How should I approach him? Should I be myself? I'm nervous, yet excited. I hope James hasn't found out. I would never hear the end of it. Why am I worrying what James will think? Let him think what he will. I just need to relax. Kelsey said he likes me a lot. I like him back. So why won’t it work out? I just need to breath._

Lily was in her dormitory. Kelsey and her other two roommates, Sally and Alicia Chase, were sharing a room. Alicia and Sally were downstairs socializing. Lily opened the book Sam gave her and started to read it. She, first, looked at the table of contents.

Chapter 1: Vampires, Werewolves, and other related subjects

Chapter 2: Spells, Charms, and Incantations

Chapter 3: Art of Life, Death, and In Between

Chapter 4: Silent Spells

Chapter 5: Defensive Maneuvers

Chapter 6: Offensive Maneuvers

Chapter 7: Potions

Chapter 8: Healing and Poisoning Herbs

Chapter 9: Occupation Options

Chapter 10: History Repeats Itself

Lily stared at the chapter titles. She knew she would like this book. When she turned the page, she saw a picture of a man in a black cloak and hat. He looked muscular and unafraid. His hair was a dark brown. You couldn't see his eyes because they were covered by the hat. They caption below read:

_Van Helsing (above) was an Auror. He hunted evil creatures for half a century. His last battle was with Dracula. Sadly, Van Helsing died from the vampire bite._

Suddenly, Lily saw the picture wink at her. She jumped from her bed and stared at the book. The picture winked, again. She closed the book and put it in her knapsack. She ran down the steps and went into the common room. She immediately spotted James and his friends. Lily slipped out of the room into the corridor. Once she was outside, somebody grabbed her arm. She gasped and turned to see Sam.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya."

"You’re fine. I'm just a little jumpy at night."

"Let's go." They traveled down a flight of stairs to the third floor. Then Sam turned around and said, "We're here."

"So. What did you want?"

"I, actually, just wanted a reason to see you. I was wording on what I should say to you on the train and at dinner. I've never been a touchy feely kind of guy. I can't write poetry. I wanted to ask you if you would go out with me."

"Okay. It sounds fun. Only on two conditions."

"Anything."

"We get to know each other better and this doesn't affect my best friend being your sister."

"Deal. I'll walk you back to the common room." They both turned and saw a ghost. His head looked like it was about to fall off.

"You two better get back to your common rooms. It's almost lights out."

"Thanks, Sir Nicholas." Sam said and they began to walk, again.

"Who was that?"

"Nearly Headless Nick. He's our house ghost. Nice chap."

"How'd he die?"

"Guillotine. They never finished chopping his head off."

"That's sad. What'd he do to deserve that?"

"Nobody knows. Nick really doesn't like to talk about it."

They arrived at the fat lady. Sam gave her the password and they walked in.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Lily said and at that she left. It was only ten minutes to ten. She could start reading that book.

When Lily got up to her room, Kelsey was sitting on her bed. "What'd he say?"

"We're going out." Kelsey let out a little scream of joy.

"I knew it. You two look so cute together. He must have bought that book he gave you cause I've never seen it before."

"I think James followed us."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because when I left the common room, he was sitting with his friends and when I came back, he was gone."

"So what?"

"I don't know. The fact that I have a stalker kind of scares me."

"Just ignore him. He'll go away in time. If he doesn't, he's still cute."

"I don't care if he's cute. I don't want a guy who likes me for my ass."

"I've got news for you. When you wear that skirt, it makes your ass look even bigger." They both laughed. "Did you look inside the book, yet?"

"Yeah. Are pictures supposed to move?"

"Yeah."

"Just making sure I wasn't imagining things." Lily and Kelsey just sat here for a while. They could hear people still talking downstairs. Alicia and Sally were walking up the stairs. They had been downstairs meeting the rest of the first years. Sally was flirting with Sirius at that time and Alicia kept her eye on James. As they walked up the stairs, they waved bye to most of the first year boys.

"I'm ready for classes to start," Lily said to Kelsey.

"Yeah, I kind of am, too."

"You're both crazy," Sally jumped in.

"Why would you be ready for classes to start?" Alicia asked.

"All that work."

"No social time."

"I'm not a sociable person," Lily said.

"Besides, I want to learn some magic. Don't you?" Kelsey asked.

"No."

"Not really."

"Whatever. I'm going to sleep," Kelsey said. "See ya in the morning."

"Yeah. See ya." Lily opened the book to the first chapter and started reading. She kept reading for the rest of the night. She knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep with the knowledge that classes start tomorrow.


	22. Chapter 22

James

Chapter 22

_Now they're going out! I can't believe this! Actually, I can believe it but I don't want to believe it. I didn't think she'd find a boyfriend on the first day! Of course this happens to me. Everything bad happens to me. I can never get away with anything._

James kept walking down the corridor. When he almost reached the portrait of the fat lady, he heard two people talking.

"...tell my friends?" It was Remus.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." That was definitely Dumbledore. "It's your decision."

"What if they figure it out?"

"You know that excuse we made up. Use that excuse and they won't figure it out. Professor Slughorn is making up a potion for you so the symptoms won't be noticeable. The transformation will still take place but it won't be as painful."

"Thanks, Professor. Night."

"Good night, Remus."

James waited until Dumbledore left. He stood there for a minute trying to figure out what just happened. _What were they talking about?_ he thought.

James said the password and stepped into the common room. Remus was already upstairs. Sirius and Peter must have gone up as well. The only thing in the common room that seemed alive was the fire. When James got back to the common room, Sirius was questioning Remus about running off so fast. James couldn't help his curiosity.

"All right, spill."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked.

"'What do you mean? What do you mean?' You know perfectly well what I mean." Remus gave James a puzzled look.

"Apparently he doesn't know what you mean, James, and I'm not far behind him." Sirius said.

"He didn't tell us something. I heard you talking to Dumbledore on the way to the common room. You asked if you should tell us or not. Tell."

"Yes, tell," Sirius chimed in. He was just as curious as James was, now.

"You heard that?" Remus asked. James nodded his head. Remus sighed and said, "All right, I'll tell you, but you have to swear that you won't tell a soul."

"We swear," all three of them said.

"Now, don't freak out. I don't want anybody to know. Nothing has changed and don't think that I can control it cause I can't. And..."

"Stop beating around the bush and tell us!" James exclaimed.

"All right! I'm...I'm...a werewolf." Remus squinted his eyes waiting for his friends to scream. There were no screams. The room was silent. Nobody said anything for the longest time. Suddenly, James broke the silence.

"No wander why you don't like me talking about Van Helsing," James said casually.

"Yeah. I was wondering why you were so touchy about that subject. Now I know," Sirius said just as casual as James. Then Sirius walked back to his bed.

"That's it," Remus said. "That's all you're going to say? 'No wander why you don't like talking about Van Helsing!'"

"What do you want us to say?" James asked. "I want a transfer?"

"Same here," Sirius said acting scared.

"Thing is, Remus," James said, "you're our friend. We won’t thrust you out to the wolves." James realized what he just said and recovered. "No pun intended."

"Yeah, man. We're not afraid of you." Sirius glanced over at Peter.

"I'm afraid of you," Peter said but then he recovered himself, "but I'm afraid of a lot of things."

"Which reminds me," Sirius said, "when we got up here, Peter said he was afraid of the sheets." James and Sirius both busted out laughing and Remus had a smirk on his face.

"Sheets can be very scary," Peter said quietly. "You never know who slept in them."

"They bleach the sheets," James said trying to hold back the laughter.

"You do know that, right?" Sirius asked. Peter jumped out of the bed. James, Sirius, and Remus looked at him in a weird way.

"I'm scared of bleach, too." James, Sirius, and Remus busted out with laughter, again.

"All right. Let's calm down and get back on the subject," James said trying to hold back some tears that were in his eyes. "Does it get lonely?"

"What?" Remus asked.

"Whenever you turn into a werewolf."

"Well, yeah. I don't really like it. Of course, I never really had anybody to hang out with before that day in Diagon Alley."

"Well, we'll figure out something so you won't get lonely."

"Man, I'm tired," Sirius said. He stretched his arms.

"That' because you ate so much," James said in a joking voice.

"Oh, I forgot to ask. What'd the boy want?"

"To ask her out."

"Did she say yes?"

"Yeah."

"Eww. Bad luck, chap. There's always when they break up."

"Yeah. That's true. I think we should search her room. Maybe we can find something."

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"There's something weird about him. I just get this feeling when I look at him."

"Well, what are you looking for exactly?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well there's one problem with that," Remus said.

"What?" James and Sirius asked.

"She has the same classes we do. How are you going to search her room?"

"Well, you could distract her, Remus," Sirius suggested.

"All right, but if you guys get caught, I don't want any part of it. I wasn't involved. Deal?"

"Deal," James and Sirius said.

"I'll be going to bed if I have to get up earlier. Night."

"Night, Remus," James and Sirius said. Peter followed suit with Remus. They were all going to sleep. James couldn't fall asleep, though. Finally, he fell fast asleep.

The next day, James woke up with a note on his nose. He took it off and read it.

_James,_

_Sirius is still sleeping. If you get caught, I had nothing to do with this plan. I'll try and stall Lily as long as possible. You owe me one._

_Remus_

James got out of bed. He walked over to Sirius's bed and shook him. Sirius woke with a start. He looked at James for a moment and his eyes were dazed. Sirius shook his head and remembered what they were going to do. They both got dressed and went downstairs.

Everybody was down at breakfast, so the common room was empty. James and Sirius crept up to the girls' dormitory. They looked in all the rooms until they found Lily's stuff. They started looking through her stuff and something caught James' eye. A book. James looked at the cover.

"Weird," James whispered. Sirius had walked over to James.

"What?"

"This book looks like one of my mom's books. Where did Sam get one?" Sirius had a really weird look on his face. James could tell that he was making no sense. "This is a _very_ rare book. Only five people have them."

"Weird."

James and Sirius were leaving Lily's room, when Professor McGonagall was walking up the stairs.

"Shoot!" James exclaimed in a whisper. He pulled Sirius into a nearly corridor. The Professor had walked right passed them. When James was sure she was gone, he and Sirius ran down the stairs.

"That was bloody close," Sirius said. "I liked it." They started down to the common room. "One thing I don't like is that Sam kid."

"I agree. I don't see how he got a hold of one of these books. I'm going to ask mum if she could send me that book."

"Will she?"

"Yeah. She's the only one who would send it to me." James ran up the stairs to his room to write the letter. Henry spread his wings and flew out the window.

"How long will it take?"

"He’s fast. It should only take a day or two."

"Cool. Let's get to class before we're late."


	23. Chapter 23

Lily

Chapter 23

_I've never been out with anybody. This is weird. I don't know what to say or do. It's weird how nobody has asked me out and then, suddenly, I have two guys who want me. I hate being the center of attention, it gets really annoying. Think of something else. Let's see. First I have Charms, then Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Potions class. Oh and History of Magic. Almost forgot._

Lily and Sam were walking down the hall to Professor Flitwick's class. Kelsey was following them but tried to stay away. She wanted to walk with Sirius but he was nowhere to be found. She hadn't seen him at breakfast or in the common room before class. Lily and Sam were just holding hands.

"I feel bad for your sister."

"Why?"

"Cause she's following us and doesn't have someone to talk with."

"I offered her to come, too, but she said she didn't want to come and walked out of the common room. Do you like the book?"

"Oh yeah. It's interesting that Van Helsing was never really proven to be dead."

"What?"

"Never mind. I already finished the book. It was really good."

"Wow. You read fast." They arrived at the classroom in a few minutes. "Well, this is it. I'll come get you after Transfiguration, all right? We'll go to lunch."

"Okay." Then he left. Lily stood there for a moment. As Kelsey walked up to Lily, Lily said, "It's about time."

"Well I was making sure he was gone."

"Why didn't you want to walk with us?"

"I didn't want to interfere."

"Well you're eating lunch with us. I don't want to babble on about stuff and make a fool of myself."

"You won't make a fool of yourself. I promise. My brother likes to take things slow. He's not a touchy feely guy."

“That’s strange since he asked me out so quickly.”

“You know, I thought the same thing. He must be crazy about you.”

"There's just something famili- oh no. Please no."

"What?"

"No. Get out of here."

"If you don't tell me right now, I'll punch you right on the nose."

"James Potter."

"Is Sirius with him?"

"Yeah." Kelsey looked really excited.

"How's my hair look?"

"You're asking the wrong person. Hurry! Let's get inside and grab a seat. Maybe they'll not see us." Lily started walking into the classroom. Then she realized Kelsey was still standing by the door. Lily went back to Kelsey, grabbed her arm, and drug her into the classroom.

Professor Flitwick had assigned them seats. Kelsey sat next to Sirius and Lily sat next to Roger Longbottom and Kierra Johnson. Although, James, Sirius, and Kelsey were right in front of her, James only turned around once and smiled at her. All she could think of is, what did he do?

"All right, class," said a small squeaky voice. It was Professor Flitwick's voice. "Welcome to your first Charms class. Let us turn our books to page twenty-five.

Class went on and on. It was a basic introduction to Charms. They were supposed to read pages thirty to seventy-five for homework. Lily paid no attention the whole class. Kelsey, on the other hand, smiled while Sirius talked to her. She would giggle at some moments. James was talking to her as well.

After Transfiguration, Sam came to take Lily to lunch. Lily tried to keep her distance from James and them, but that plan didn't work out so well. They sat right across the table form her and Sam. The rest of the day went pretty quickly. In all the classes, she had to read something as an introduction to the course. Lily and Kelsey went to the library to read their homework.

Lily was reading when, suddenly, she had a feeling that somebody was watching her. She picked up her head and looked around but no one was there. She looked at Kelsey who had fallen asleep. Kelsey was drooling all over her book. Lily shook Kelsey awake.

"What? What did I miss?" Kelsey asked in a daze.

"Somebody's watching us," Lily replied in a whispered. Kelsey sat straight up and looked around.

"I don't see anybody," Kelsey whispered back. "You're being paranoid."

"We better get back to the common room. It's almost ten o'clock."

"I haven't finished reading my book, yet."

"You haven't finished any of your books. I'll explain them on the way."

When Kelsey and Lily left the library, a shadow was watching them every step of the way back to the common room.


	24. Chapter 24

James

Chapter 24

_I didn't talk to her all day. She was with that Sam fellow at lunch and I didn't say anything to her. He looks familiar but I can't tell why. I really don't know him. I just know he's the captain of the Quidditch team. Henry should be back soon. Classes are so boring. I just read what we had to read in class. It tells you everything that you need to know. I already knew it all. I have two older brothers. It's not like I'm completely in the dark._

James was sitting in the common room. He was staring at the fire and it was late. Nobody else was around and that suited James just fine. He had some things on his mind. He felt paranoid today. He was sure somebody was watching him in the shadows.

A faint voice was calling his name. He looked around the common room but no one was there. Then he glanced at the fire and saw a face. A familiar face. His mom's face!

"James. How was the first day?" His mom's voice was soothing to him.

"Boring. I already know half the stuff."

"Just make sure you listen to your teachers."

"What d'you want, Mum?"

"Just to talk. Oh! That book you wanted is on the way with a present that I just happened to find lying around the house. It should be there at breakfast."

"You're the best, Mum. See you at Christmas."

"Don't get into too much trouble."

"Mum, you know me."

"That's exactly why I said that. Love you."

"Love you, too." the image of his mother was gone. He sat there alone for a little longer.

"You really love your mother," said a voice. James turned to see Lily standing by the doorway. She had a blue robe over her night gown. "I can't sleep, either. I heard someone down here and thought some company would be nice."

"How's Sam?"

"He's nice, funny, simple, charming, and doesn't spend hours in front of the mirror."

"You don't know that." She laughed. "How's the book he gave you?"

"It was good," Lily said calmly. She made her way toward a seat. "You could have just asked."

"Asked what?" asked a puzzled James.

"What he got me."

"I did ask somebody."

"James, I know when somebody's been in my room." James looked at her in a sorry face. He knew she that she knew what he did.

"How d'you find out?"

"Well my first clue was Remus. You shouldn't send somebody that doesn't talk to me. Second, my clothes weren't in the proper place."

"We had to hurry. Professor McGonagall was coming."

"And third, I know you, James. You're jealous and curious. I knew it would happen."

"Sorry," was his only reply. "I guess you'll tell Professor McGonagall."

"Why?"

"It's against school rules."

"Breaking into somebody's room breaks a lot of rules. And no, I'm not." James' face perked up.

"Really?"

"I have no evidence that it even was you. Besides, all I know is somebody went into my room." James looked at her with a smirk. _At least she doesn't hate me._ he thought. "One more thing, stop following me in the shadows. I hate that feeling when you know somebody is watching you."

"I haven't been following you or creeping in the shadows." She gave him a look that said _yeah, right._ "I swear. Ask Sirius, I've been with him and Remus all day."

"Then who's been following me?"

"The same person who's following me," James said blankly.

"Like a person in the shadows?"

"Yeah. I thought I was just being paranoid. I mean after what happened at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Well, either, somebody is following us or we're both paranoid." She gave him a smile.

"I hope we're just paranoid." They both sat in silence for a moment.

"I'd better get back to bed and at least try to sleep."

"Same, here. Night."

"Night." Lily started walking toward the stairs to head upstairs, but before she started up the steps, she said, "You are a nice person, when you don't act like a little know it all." At that, she walked up the steps.

James sat there for a while longer. Thinking about what he needed to do tomorrow. He didn't even think about what Lily just said. Which would surprise him in the morning. He had more important things on his mind. He wanted to know how Sam got a hold of that book. It's impossible for him to have it. He was muggle-born. He couldn't have gotten his hands on a book like that unless he was in a gang or something. Sam didn't seem like a guy who would join a gang, though. He let the thought go and went up stairs to try and go to sleep. He didn't really succeed, though.

The next morning at breakfast, James was too anxious to get his mail. He looked down the table and saw Lily and Kelsey sitting with Roger Longbottom and Sharon Finnigan. He glanced over at the Slytherin table and saw Malfoy and his friends staring at him. It was kind of awkward. He heard a screech and knew that the mail was there.

"There's your owl James," Sirius said. "Who are you looking at?"

"Somebody who's looking at me," James replied.

"Why don't you ever just say, flat out, what you're talking about?"

"Sorry," he said. Then he looked at Sirius and said, "I used to play this game with my dad. I'm looking at Lucius Malfoy. He's staring at me."

"Well he's not staring at you, now. He's reading the Daily Prophet. Now, here comes Henry." The owl came straight to James and dropped a letter from his beak and a package from his claws.

"We'll open the package in our dormitory."

"Well at least read the letter." James took the letter and opened it up. Sirius looked over James' shoulder. It read:

_Dear James,_

_I hope you like the gift I got you. It's an old family heirloom. I know you'll use it the way I did, to sneak out of your dorm. So I'll just say, try not to get caught. The books inside the present so it'll be impossible for you not to open the present. You owe me one. I had to sneak this past your father. You know how he is. I'll see you at Christmas._

_Love,_

_Mom_

_P.S. I got a letter from the Black family. They said something like, your son is corrupting our son. I don't think they like us. They also had a few choice words that I'm not entitled to tell you. Tell Sirius that I said hey. Remus, too._

"I love your, mum," Sirius said.

"How did your parents find out you were hanging with me?"

"Probably Malfoy. He likes telling on me. Our family is close to the Malfoy's."

"Lucky you," James said sarcastically.

The day went by pretty quickly. They went to their classes and learned a few spells. Nothing complicated. Just some simple things that can get them through life. As they were going back to the common room, a Slytherin boy accidentally ran into them.

"Watch where you're going!" he exclaimed.

"You're the one who ran into us!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Yeah right! You need to watch where you're going!"

"Would you guys calm down," Remus said.

"Shut up, mudblood!" The boy screamed. All of a sudden, the boy was floating in the air upside down. He was lowered close to James' face.

"Never." James said in a dark voice, "NEVER insult any of my friends." The boy was squirming around.

"Put me down!" He screamed.

"You want down?" James asked. James dropped his wand and the boy fell on his head.

"Don't I know you?" Sirius asked.

"I know you, traitor. Ahhhhhhhhh!"

"What did I say about insulting my friends?"

"Now I remember! You're that Snape, kid! My parents were at your parents’ funeral."

"Don't sound so excited, Sirius," Remus said.

"It's Severus."

"Let's go," James said and left Severus on the ground.


	25. Chapter 25

Lily

Chapter 25

_I really like it when James and I have serious talks. I really think he's smart but he just doesn't want to apply himself. I can't believe it's almost Halloween. I still have the feeling somebody is watching me. None of my friends believe me. They just don't understand. I'm sure nobody knows about what happened at the Leaky Cauldron about two or three months ago. I still have nightmares about that night. Kelsey's been depressed for the past month. Sirius broke up with her. I'm still friends with him. James is really nice when he's alone but when he's with his friends and around other people, he acts arrogant. I just don't get him. Why are guys so complicated?_

Lily was sitting at breakfast Halloween day, when the Slytherin's weren't at breakfast. None of them. They just weren't at their table.

"Where is everybody?" Lily asked.

"I don't know," Kelsey responded blankly.

"It's been two months since he broke up with you. You need to get over it."

"It's not that. He's all ready going out with someone else."

"Just forget about him. He doesn't know what he's missing."

"No he doesn't because he's not missing anything at all. He's got a beautiful girl sitting on his lap right now." Kelsey glared at her. "Stupid, Brittany Samson."

"Don't say that. It's not her fault that he dumped you."

"Well you don't understand. You have Sam to keep you company. I've got no one. Now I know how James feels."

"Don't say that. You don't know what he's thinking right now. He has deeper thoughts than you can imagine. I should know."

"Oh my God."

"What?"

"You like him. You like him so much."

"No! I like him as a friend, when he's not around his friends."

"Uh huh. Sure."

"You don't know what we went through together. It's complicated and I can't tell you."

"Why not!"

"It's one of those things you just don't want to remember. I just want to forget that day. Can we change the subject?"

"Yeah."

They finished their breakfast and went to Potions class. Professor Slughorn had already chosen his favorites, Lily being the number one. He would always ask her to do "special tasks" for him which meant, "I'm about to yell at the class, it's not your fault, and please leave for a moment." He would also ask her to come to him after class for some reason. One day was different, though.

"Miss Evans, will you see me before you leave?" Lily gathered her stuff and walked up to Professor Slughorn.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes." He went behind his desk and sat down. "I can see you are a very talented young girl." _I've only been in your class for three months!_ she thought. "I want to give you two things. This first thing is a book of potions. It's very special. Limited edition, too." He handed the book to her. She stared at it for a while. She then flipped through the pages and saw the very complicated formulas.

"I don't think I'm ready for this."

"You will be. The second thing is, this." He handed her a bottle of liquid. She couldn't tell what color it was because it was covered by a spell for some reason.

"What is it?"

"Felix Felicis."

"How did you make this? I heard it was wicked hard."

"It's in that book. I'm assuming you know what it does."

"It gives you good luck, in a sense."

"Well all I'm saying is that you might need that one day. I don't know when but you might."

"Thank you, Professor." She started toward the door. "I'll use it in the most dire time of need." She was out the door.

Kelsey was waiting for her outside the Professor's door. She was sitting on the floor. Her hair was falling in her face and she was, if you could believe it, asleep. She let out a snort and a very deep breath.

"Kelsey!" Kelsey woke with a start.

"What...who...I'm ready."

"It's just me. Were you waiting for me or sleeping?"

"Both. I can do two things at once."

"What did the Professor give you?"

"A book. Some potion book that I won’t be able to do until I'm much older. I don't know why he gave it to me but he did and I can't say no."

By the end of the day, they were tired and excited. They were ready for the feast. The feast where they will have candy and all such items. Everybody knows what goodies they were going to get. All the older, nicer, kids told them about it. Even though Lily wasn't into sweets that much, she was just as excited as the rest of the students.

Kelsey and Lily went back to the common room to freshen up. Right when they entered the common room, James was leaving. Lily assumed that Sirius, Remus, and Peter were already at the Great Hall. James stopped in front of them. He just stood there. It was like he couldn't move.

"Don't go in there," he said.

"Why?" Kelsey asked. "We have every right to go in there."

"You're not going to like it. It's not pretty. Sirius and Peter went to tell a teacher."

"I want to see."

"You're not going to like it. I really wouldn't suggest it."

"I don't care! I'm going in." She brushed right passed him. Before she went in James grabbed her arm. He gave her one of his looks. One of those "be careful" looks. "Don't over react" looks. "I want to see."

Lily walked into the common room. It was a disaster area. The cushions were torn apart and there was blood everywhere. Lily glanced at an area and saw it. There was a boy on the floor. Lily saw someone lying on the floor. Sirius was sitting next to him with a concerned look on his face.

"Let's get out of here."

"Why? It's not that bad. It's just been trashed."

"Now!" Lily drug Kelsey out of the common room. She could barely bare the sight of that boy who was lying on the floor. His face was torn to bits. When they got outside, James was still standing there. "What happened?"

"I don't know. Sirius, Remus, Peter, and I were just coming into the common room and he was on the floor." James' eyes were glazed over. It looked like he was remembering the sight of the kid. "I don't know what happened. If I could tell you who did it, I would tell in a heartbeat. Why would somebody do that? Who would do that?"

"Do what to who?" Kelsey asked.

"Thomas Jones." James said.

"Oh my, God. What happened?"

"I didn't want you to see it." Lily said. "It was bad. He had cuts all over his face. I've never heard of any spell that would do that. It's hard to believe that someone would even use it."

"I don't know. I've been around magic all my life and I've never seen anything like that. Even a person with a knife would have a hard time with that." They all stopped talking. There was silence. Nobody wanted to say anything more about that horrible subject.

A while later, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall came running up the stairs. They had a worried look on their face. It was bad enough that James and them had seen the boy but they also had to see the worn face of Dumbledore. He didn't say anything to the kids. He just walked right passed them and went into the common room. When he came out, his head was down.

"Lily and James, I want all of you to come to my office after we situate the sleeping place of the whole Gryffindor house. This is a terrible happening. I want you all to be calm and don't think about it or talk about it unless you do that amongst yourself. I don't want too many people knowing what has happened here. All we need is the newspaper at Hogwarts telling all the worried parents about this incident first. Professor McGonagall, please escort these young students to the Great Hall. I advise that you try to eat something. I know this can be a horrible moment for all of you." Before they left, they heard Professor Dumbledore say to himself, "I'm going to have to send letters to all the parents. They're not going to like the fact that somebody in the school was attacked."


	26. Chapter 26

James

Chapter 26

_I can't tell anybody what happened. They wouldn't believe me anyway. Not even Lily would believe me. Dumbledore knows what happened. That's why he asked me to come to the office with him but why did he ask Lily to come? I don't understand. I got a scratch trying to calm him. It's like he changed completely. He can't do anything about it either. I'm going to find a way to slow down this process. It looked too painful and I'm glad that I'm not one._

James met Lily at the entrance of the Great Hall, where the Gryffindor house would be sleeping. They just started walking up the stairs, not even thinking about talking. Once they were up a little farther, Lily asked something.

"What happened?"

"I told you I don't know." Lily looked straight at him in disbelief. "I don't!"

"Don't lie to me. It's not a good thing to lie." James rolled his eyes and ran ahead. He didn't look back at her. He knew he couldn't tell anybody what happened. It was something that he didn't want to remember either.

They finally reached Dumbledore's office and Dumbledore was standing right outside the door. He said the password and walked inside. Dumbledore's office was huge. He had everything imaginable.

"Thomas will recover but it will take a few weeks. He seemed to have lost consciousness before the attack occurred and doesn’t remember what happened.” James was relieved. “Also, I wanted to assure you both that it was not Voldemort that did that tonight."

"Do you know who did that?" Lily asked

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell us?"

"It is none of your concern and I don't want to worry you children. It's not a burden a child should have to hold."

"Apparently some children do though," James said. Lily looked at James as if he just said something really smart. If she knew what he meant, he didn't care. The hint was meant for Dumbledore telling him that he knew.

"Miss. Evans, Mr. Potter, thank you for your time. I need to speak with you privately Mr. Potter for one moment if you don't mind. Goodbye, Miss. Evans." Lily left the room with a puzzled look. She didn't understand what was going on. Once she left the room, Dumbledore sat down at his desk.

"How did you find out?" he asked.

"Remus told us."

"So what happened exactly?"

"We were going upstairs before the feast and it happened. He changed into a werewolf. I calmed him down after a while but before that I tried to seal the door so nobody would see him like that. Then, Thomas came in. He was in his room and he heard the racket and Remus lost control." Dumbledore just sat there for a while and made a big sigh.

"I'm going to have to send him home."

"No!" James exclaimed very quickly. "You can't. It's not his fault."

"An innocent child got hurt, what do you suggest we do."

"I don't know. Is there anywhere we could, so to speak, store him? I mean there are many secret places in the school."

"I'm not storing him in the school. Students will start to talk."

"Students are already talking. You can't stop the rumors. Rumors are something that you will have all your life. You just ignore them or deal with them. That's it."

"I don't know what to do with him, James. There is nowhere he can hide that anybody would go." James stood there thinking hard. Where could Remus go that nobody else would go?

"The Shack," James whispered.

"What did you say?"

"The Shrieking Shack. The one down by Hogsmede. Nobody goes there and no one would take the howling he makes as anything suspicious. It's perfect. The only thing that I don't know is how we could get him there."

"I think I have an answer for that. Mr. Potter, I want to thank you for thinking of something for Mr. Lupin. I'm sure it'll mean so much for Remus."

"Thanks, Professor. I know that Remus is doing so much better here than he would on the street."

"Did he tell you that too?"

"No, I figured that one out on my own." James smiled at Dumbledore. "May I leave now? Sirius and Peter are waiting for me in the Great Hall." Dumbledore was about to say something when James said quickly, "I won’t tell anybody, I promise. Who would believe Remus was werewolf? I had a hard time believing it myself." He gave a little chuckle as he said that. He went out the door and that was that.

Whenever he got outside, Lily was standing there. She was on the floor. James didn't realize, until he came closer, that Lily was asleep. He didn't want to wake her up. So he picked her up and took her downstairs. Nobody was up so they didn't see that he tucked her in her sleeping bag. She looked so peaceful. Then he walked to his sleeping bag but not before he turned around to see a shadow behind him. It was Sam.

"Stay away from my girlfriend," he said in a firm whisper.

"I'm not trying to take her away from you. As long as she's happy I don't care who she's going out with."

"I don't want you trying to woe her or anything. She's mine."

"You're being a little over protective aren't you? Just go to sleep because I'm too tired to have this argument."

"Let's finish this now."

"Where?"

"Outside. Right now. Whoever wins, gets her."

"I don't think that's fair for her."

"Are you scared, Potter?"

"You wish. I don't want to do this." Sam was already at the exit of the Great Hall. James had no choice but to follow. "I really don't think it's fair on my account. You have more experience and know more spells."

"Wizards duel is the only way to settle this."

"There is nothing to settle. She chose you." Sam sent a blast of red light from his wand. James went flying across the lawn. James got up shaking his head. "Now, it's on." James sent a blue-green light out of his wand. He didn't have to say anything.

"How d'you do that? You're not even old enough to learn that in school!"

"I read a book. You've seen it. I wonder how you got it though. It's really hard to find." Sam had a puzzled look on his face. "You gave it to Lily."

"Yeah. That book was a good one. I'm not going to tell you where I got it. It's my little secret."

"That's just fine with me." James let out another stream of orange light. Sam was thrown across the yard a good twenty feet. "I told you that I didn't want to do this. This is ridiculous. I'm going to bed. Good night."

James went inside, got under his covers, and went to sleep. Sam was outside on the ground. He had blood coming from his mouth and nose. A voice came from nowhere and was talking to Sam. He slowly got up and went inside. When he got inside, he went to the Great Hall and got in his bed. He was smiling for some strange reason, which was strange for a boy who just got beaten by a first year.


	27. Chapter 27

Lily

Chapter 27

_James won’t tell me what had happened that night. He won't even talk to me. It's been two weeks and he won't talk. Sam's been acting weird too. He's not being himself. I don't know what I should do._

Lily walked out of the dormitory and saw James and his gang by the staircase. They were messing around, as usual. Lily didn't want to walk by them but she had no choice. As she walked by them, James just looked at her. She was halfway down to the main floor when James called out her name.

"Lily!" James called. He started walking beside her. "We need to talk."

"Talk about what?!" she replied in a bad mood voice.

"Talk about Sam."

"What about him?"

"Well, I didn't want to hurt you because you looked so happy with him, but I've got to tell you what he tried to get me to do." Lily was still walking like she didn't hear him. "Are you listening to me?"

"Yes," she said crisply.

"He tried to get me to duel for you." Lily stopped walking.

"What?" she said with anger.

"He started dueling me and before I knew it I had to duel him. If I didn't, he probably would have tried to kill me." Lily gave him a look. "Well, at least close to death."

"And, what did you do?" she asked. She knew he had to have done something to get Sam to duel him.

"I didn't do anything," she gave him a look saying "yeah right". "I didn't do anything _to him_."

"Who did you do something to?"

"Well, you waited a pretty long time for me while I was talking to Dumbledore and you fell asleep. You needed sleep. Don't think I haven't seen you pull those all nighters in the common room. So I picked you up and took you downstairs. I put you in the cot next to Kelsey and that was it. I swear."

"Well I knew that," she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"We still good?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are we still friends?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't we be?"

"Well, I invaded your personal space and carried you down a lot of steps. Plus, I dueled your boyfriend."

"Well, we're still good."

"Okay. Now I have to ask if you and your family would like to have Christmas with us."

"Who’s ‘us'?"

"My mom and the rest of the family."

"I'm sure we could. I'll ask." Lily walked away. Then she heard someone screaming "yes!". She didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

The quidditch cup is today but Lily didn't want to go. She was the only one who didn't go. She had too many thoughts on her mind. She still felt like someone or something was following her. Lily was walking by Hagrid's hut, when Lucius came strolling up to her. He was by himself which was very unusual.

"Why aren't you at the quidditch match?"

"Because I don't feel like it."

"That's not an answer."

"You know I was just wondering why you are talking to me."

"Because I want to."

"That's not a good enough answer," she said smart alike like and she started to walk away.

"Don't move another step, mudblood!" She stopped and turned around.

"Oh what are you going to do? Blow my head off? Yeah right. You can't even pass Charms class to save your life! So enlighten me! What are you intending to do with that!" She was screaming at him at this point. She walked right up to him until he was a few inches away from his face. "You threaten me again, Malfoy, and I'll hit you so hard that you'll be in the hospital for months." Malfoy just glared at her. "Now leave me alone." She walked away from him.

"Stupid, mudblood!" he whispered.

"I heard that!" she screamed at him while she was still walking.

Lily was in the common room when the quidditch match ended. Apparently Gryffindor won. All the people in Gryffindor were cheering their heads off as they were leaving the stadium. She was reading a book when James walked in the common room with a bunch of books in his hands.

"You left the game early?" she asked without even looking up.

"What makes you think I even went to the game?" he said in a playful manor.

"You love quidditch."

"I don't love quidditch. I like to play but not watch. It's too boring."

"So where were you?"

"Hagrid's hut. He was helping me with a dragon report. He loves dragons. I wish I could find him one. Why weren't you at the game?"

"What makes you think that I wasn't at the game?"

"Because I saw you walking by Hagrid's hut. I also saw Malfoy with you."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I was about to go out there and kick his...butt, but I saw you had everything under control." She raised her eyebrow inquisitively. "Alright, Hagrid held me back. But he wouldn't try anything at school." He smiled at her and she smiled back. He sat down next to her. "So word on the street is you broke up with Sam."

"Yeah. He wasn't acting like the Sam that I liked." She smiled at him. "Oh! My parents said that we would love to and I would love to have Christmas with someone other than my next door neighbor who smells like cats." They both laughed.

"I can't believe next week we get out for Christmas."

"I know."

"It's my favorite holiday."

"Mine, too. All the reds and greens. Oh! Before I forget, I need to ride home with you because my sister doesn't want to go and she’s being temper tantrum girl. Nothing against your family but she's been acting weird lately. It's not like her."

"That's no problem for my mom. My dad might not like it but mum'll talk him into it."

"Listen I've got to go before everybody comes in. I feel real awkward around Sam now so I'm going up."

"'Night."

Lily was sitting in her room a few nights later when Kelsey came in. She had a bunch of food in her hands and mouth.

"Dinner good?" Lily asked. Kelsey swallowed.

"Yeah. Why did you skip, again?"

"Wasn't hungry."

"You need to eat. Now the Christmas feast is tomorrow and you're going. I don't care if you're hungry or not."

"Alright. I'll go."

"So you're really going to have Christmas with James."

"His mum invited us."

"You like him."

"Yeah I like him. Just not the way you're thinking."

"Whatever. I'm going to bed."

"You're not mad at me, are you?"

"No. Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because I broke up with your brother."

"Listen. I told you before you went out with him, we're still friends even if you don't like him like that."

"Just making sure. 'Night."

"'Night."


	28. Chapter 28

James

Chapter 28

_Today’s the last day! I’m so glad that today is the last day. Well, at least until Christmas break. I’m so glad Lily’s family is coming. Not just because I like Lily but because I like her parents. They seem like they really care about her, especially her dad. I wish my dad would be like that with me. At least I have my mom who loves me._

It was the last full day before Christmas break and James was sitting in the common room with Sirius. Remus was in the Shrieking Shack right now. It was his last day and then he would be able to go back to Hogwarts to spend the Christmas Break. Sirius was going to stay at Hogwarts too. He didn’t want to leave Remus by himself. James had offered both of them to come with him but they declined.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” James said. “I hope you guys have a Happy Christmas.”

“Yeah, same here,” Sirius replied. “So, is Lily really going to your house?”

“Yeah. It really was my mum’s idea.”

“Sure. I believe you,” Sirius said sarcasticAlley.

“Don’t you dare imply that I really would try to get my mum to do something like that.” James got up and was about to leave through the portrait hole but before he left, he turned to Sirius and said, “I’m not _that_ manipulative.” He gave a wicked little smile and left.

Christmas break. Everybody who was leaving was excited. Lots of presents were ready for them at home and the students were dying to get away from the teachers and homework. The halls were filled with Christmas decorations and other items. It made the halls light up with beauty and magnificence.

James was waiting on Lily with Sirius and Remus. James was being really impatient because Lily was taking ** _FOREVER._**

"How long does it take to bloody pack!?" James asked. He wasn't really asking Sirius or Remus but to himself.

"She's a girl," Sirius replied," she probably brought so many clothes that you wouldn't even be able to imagine."

"Either that," Remus added, "or she actually folded her clothes, unlike someone else we know."

"Well I didn't think it would take her this long," James finished.

"It only took me five minutes, chill out," Lily said. She was just walking down the steps. She was changed out of her school uniform and wore a royal blue skirt and a white shirt. James couldn't keep his eyes off the skirt, though. It was the shortest skirt he has ever seen. Although, before that, the shortest skirt he saw was on his Aunt Telly but that skirt was down to her knees. This skirt was half way down her thigh. She walked up to James. "James, my eyes aren't on my thighs."

"Sorry! I've never seen a skirt that short."

"You need to get out more. These skirts are the style in the muggles' world."

"Maybe we should have Christmas at your house," he said jokingly. She punched his arm playfully.

"You guys better get going before the train leaves without you," Remus said responsively.

When they, Lily and James, were walking down to the station, they saw Malfoy sneaking behind the train. They gave each other a glance and knew what the other was thinking. They went to follow him and see what he was up to. When they got there he was just exchanging some candy with another kid.

After they had walked away, Lily said, "We have got to be less suspicious about him."

"Why? He's not going to be less mean and cold hearted." They were getting onto the train and walking down the corridors trying to find an empty compartment.

"Because one of these times we are going to get caught and personally I don't want to be a part of something like that."

"Well then don't be a part of it."

"Well I don't want you to be a part of it either." He stopped.

"Did you just show a little bit of concern for me?" He asked sarcastically.

"Yes." He looked at her for a moment. "I'm allowed to show a little compassion and concern for others. Do you have a problem with it?"

"No. Just asking." They continued to walk down the hall. "Here's one." And they entered the empty compartment.


	29. Chapter 29

Lily

Chapter 29

_This is boring. We're not even talking to each other. He's just sitting there playing with his hair. He can be so self absorbed sometimes! It seems like we're getting close to the station. I hope everything goes as smoothly as possible...for us._

It was getting late and the lights had been turned on. The hall was empty because most of the students were asleep and dreaming sweet dreams. Lily looked out the window with James. They were sitting right across from each other. Every time she looked over, he was either looking at his hair in the window or staring out the window.

Lily realized that James did have a sort of arrogance around him. He only cared about his looks but she figured it was a phase he was going through and he would get out of it...eventually. The thing was, he spent more time in mirror than her sister, and that was bad. She would spend hours just perfecting her hair.

"Would you stop messing with your hair."

"I can't help it. It's messed up."

"It is not messed up. Here, if you think that it's messed up let me fix it." She leaned over and swished his hair one way and back another. "There, is that better?"

"Yeah, it is. Thanks." Whenever he turned he was closer than Lily expected him. They lingered there for a moment looking into each other’s eyes. By the look on James's face, he didn't mean to be that close. It just kind of happened. At the same time they both pulled away from each other.

They didn't say much to each other after that. It was kind of awkward for a while. All of a sudden the train stopped. Abruptly, like someone pulled the emergency brake. Lily and James both jumped up and looked outside the corridor. There was nothing there, other than the other kids looking to see what happened.

Like a chill that went down Lily and James's spines, they ran to the window. They both swung the window open and peeked outside. There were wizards outside the train and they were going from window to window with their wands pulled out. When a wizard was close enough, they could hear him muttering something.

"Hey," James asked, "what's going on?"

The man looked up and responded, "Just an inspection." His voice was gruff and uncaring. He didn't seem like he was going to tell them what was really going on.

"There's never been an inspection," James added.

"Well there is now," the man said and kept walking.

"That was weird," Lily said.

"Yeah, that was extremely odd." After a while, the train started back up and they were on their way.

They reached the station and James's mom was standing in the crowd waving at them. She had a lovely fur coat on, not real fur, and a long black skirt. Her jet black hair was curled to perfection in short hair. Her skirt was long and flowing all the way down to her ankle.

James ran up to her and gave her a big hug. Lily could tell they loved each other very much. As Lily walked up with her luggage, James comes over.

"You want me to carry something," he asked.

"Why?"

"It's the proper thing to do. If you don't want me to then I won't, but it was just a suggestion." He started walking away when she stopped him.

"Alright." He turned and came back to pick up the biggest bag. They walked over to James's mom and left.

“Have you ever travelled by floo powder, dear?” Mrs. Potter asked.

“Floo what?”

“She hasn’t, Mum,” James replied.

“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”

They walked up to a fireplace and Mrs. Potter pulled out a small bag.

“Now, dear, all you have to do is say, ‘Potter House’. Make sure you say it clearly or else you might end up somewhere you’re not supposed to be.” Lily looked puzzled and Mrs. Potter could tell she was nervous. “James, would you care to go first so that she understands what to do?”

“Yeah, Mum.” James grabbed the powder and stepped in the fireplace. He gave Lily a quick wink then said, “Potter House” and vanished in a green flash. Lily jumped back a bit in surprise.

“It’s a bit of a shock at first, I know, but once you get used to it, it’s not that bad,” Mrs. Potter said. “Are you ready?” Not sure if she was ready, Lily nodded her head and took some of the powder in her hands. “Speak clearly now.” Lily took a deep breath then said, “Potter House” as clear as she could before dropping the powder. There was a whoosh and she appeared in a nice living room. James was standing there smiling. All of a sudden, there was a crack and Mrs. Potter appeared out of thin air.

“You made it!” She exclaimed. “I’m so happy. I hope it wasn’t too strange for you.”

“I’m fine,” Lily said even though she felt kind of queasy.

“Why don’t you step outside and get some fresh air?” Mrs. Potter suggested.

Lily went out the front door and the view took her breath away. It was a peaceful little farm area. The land went on for miles and miles it seemed. The ground was white with snow. Like a blanket that was trying to warm the ground. It was a small brick one with three stories. It was beautiful and breathtaking at the same time.

"Beautiful, isn't it," James asked. James appeared behind her.

"Yeah, it really is. So where is everybody?"

"Well most of my brothers are working at the ministry of magic and my father won't be home until Christmas Eve night. Well, at least you won't see him until then."

"I take it he likes to work."

"'Likes' is an understatement. He loves to work day and night. Sometimes he doesn't come home from the offices for weeks at a time."

"That's why you and your mom are so close."

"You could say that."

"So how many brothers do you have?"

"Four."

"And they all work for the ministry?"

"Not all. Feeling better?”

“Yeah.”

They walked inside the house and there was a man there. He had long straight brown hair and dark brown eyes. His eyes reminded her of James'. He had an excited glow that yearned to learn and see everything.

"Jeff!" James exclaimed.

"Are you surprised to see me," he replied.

"How did you...when did you..."

"Well I just got in. Mum told me that you were coming home with a girl friend," Lily had a shocked face on, "just as a friend, and her family over and she thought it would be nice if they met the entire family."

"Does Dad know?"

"What do you think?"

"Well it's great to have you home."

"Shouldn’t you introduce me to your friend?"

"Oh sorry, this is Lily Evans. Lily this is my brother, Jeff."


	30. Chapter 30

Jeff

Chapter 30

_Way to go little bro. You just scored yourself a little girlfriend. I wonder if she knows yet. Well, Mum seems to approve so if they do end up going out, Dad will be the only person to stop them. He can't though and I won’t let him do that. Not again._


	31. Chapter 31

James

Chapter 31

_I can't believe he came home. Jeff is the coolest guy._

_Dad never talks about him because he doesn't have a real job. I think he's cool and I know he likes me. Well only because I'm not like Dad but at least somebody will talk to me in this house other than Mum._

"So how did you get here?" James asked.

"Well I got a few coins working in a little shop in Hunsford. It was a nice little place but you know me. I had to get out of there." Jeff glanced at Lily. "Why don't we continue this conversation after you show Ms. Evans where she'll be staying?"

"Oh! Sorry Lily. It's this way." James picked up her bags and walked out of the kitchen.

When they were walking up the steps, James was thinking about the huge explosion that would happen when he got home, if he came home.

"He seems nice," Lily said to break the silence.

"Oh, yeah. He really is but I don't think we should be around when my dad gets home."

"Your dad seems like a very strict guy."

"He just doesn't like something different."

"Except your mom."

"Yeah, except her. I never understood how she could marry him anyway. He really tries to change everybody except her."

"Well I'm sure that since he has guests at the house he won't yell...as much." They looked at each other and chuckled a little.

"I wish. He yelled at me for not wearing my tie to school for the train ride. What do you say to that?"

Lily waited a moment before she answered. Then she said, "He must have had an extremely bad day. I'm sure it'll be fine." She smiled at him and he smiled back. For a moment he felt happy but then there was a crash of a door downstairs and yelling shortly followed. James had a scared face on. He knew it was his dad. Lily must have sensed it because she said, "Why don't we see what happened?"

They walked down the steps and there he was, a tall man with broad shoulders and a vexed look on his face. He was furious. Jeff was sitting in the seat eating a piece of bread. He was laying back with two legs of the chair off the floor.

"Now I'm going to ask again, **WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN** ** _MY_** **HOUSE?!** "

"Jack!" Mrs. Potter screamed back. "Would you shut up!? I invited him because we have ** _guests_**." She pointed to Lily standing in the corner.

"It's just a little girl. I'm sure she heard parents yelling at their children before."

"Actually, sir," Lily interrupted, "my parents don't really yell at us."

"Well with that sort of mouth they should."

"Dad," James said with shock, "she is our guest. Don't yell at her."

"I agree with James," Jeff added.

"I don't care what either of you think, especially you." He pointed at Jeff.

"Jack! Don't you dare point at anybody like that every again."

"What will you do?"

"You know what I will do." At that moment, a bunch of dishes and chairs started circling the room. Lily, James, and Jeff ducked under the table. "You know that I can't control myself when I get angry."

"Alright, dear! I'll stop yelling and be nice. Just for this weekend." The chairs touched down on the ground. The dishes went back into the sink and Lily, James, and Jeff came out from underneath the table. "Whenever Christmas is over, he's out of here."

"Christmas Break." Mrs. Potter said angrily.

"I'm not...," chairs started rising off the floor again, "Alright! Christmas break. And then, you're gone." He pointed at Jeff.

"With pleasure," Jeff said in reply.

"Well that was interesting," Lily said. She started to laugh. Then James and Mrs. Potter joined in. Jeff wasn't too far behind them. They all laughed for a while until James ended it.

"Let’s get you up to your room and settled in."

As they walked up the stairs, they were still giggling. It wasn't until she got to her room did Lily say, "You have one interesting family."

"Yeah, well, we try." They started to laugh again.

"What time do you guys eat dinner, I'm starving."

"I'm sure Mum will have dinner up in no time. Sorry you had to witness that though."

"No big deal. I've been yelled at before."

"I thought you said your parents never yelled at you."

"I know. They don't, my sister does." Lily and James started to laugh again. It was an interesting beginning to a Christmas break.


	32. Chapter 32

_Lily_

_Chapter 32_

_Wow. James' dad really does not seem like a nice man. I'm not one to say anything but if that man yells at me ever again I swear he will regret it. I do not need this kind of treatment from a guy who can't hold his temper. I guess I feel worse for James. He has to deal with that man more than I will. Well I will not put up with his tongue. He says one thing that offends me...well...let's just say I don't know if I will hold myself back. I won’t try to either._

The day ended and a new one began. Lily walked down the steps to hear angry voices coming from the kitchen. She leaned in to hear what all the ruckus was about.

"I don't care if these people sound nice or not," a gruff voice said. James' dad. "We don't know anything about them."

"Well they seem to have raised a well enough girl that James seems to like her," James' mom replied. "James has always been good at picking his friends."

"So you say."

"Every friend he has picked has always been loyal to him. Don't you dare say anything bad about any of them."

"I'm just ready for that brat to leave home for good."

Lily could not just stand by and let James' dad continue talking about him like that. James is a nice boy and he has a good heart. He might not always say the right thing or be the nicest kid in the world but he knows what's what. Lily walked into the room.

"Good morning, Mrs. Potter." She looks at Mr. Potter. "Mr. Potter." She nods at him and he returns one. "Is James up yet?"

"Of course not," James' dad says.

"Jack!" Mrs. Potter gives Mr. Potter an icy glare. She looks back at Lily. "No, dear, he isn't. He likes to sleep in."

"Alright," Lily says. "Well I will be outside if he asks. Continue your discussion."

Lily walked outside but before she did, she heard Mrs. Potter laughing and say "I like that girl." Lily could not help but have a big smile on her face. She wanted to respond with the same fondness to Mrs. Potter. She had a warm feeling about her. The father on the other hand, she wanted to strangle that man. Lily did not know what it was about that man but she did not like it. He just had this air around him that she could not stand.

The sky was clear but cold. Snow from the night before still laid on the ground. A cool breeze blew which made Lily shiver. The backyard was empty. No living thing stirred. It was peaceful and Lily liked it. She always lived next to some noisy neighbors who did not like children. She was happy to be here instead of at home with her screaming relatives. That was a plus about being a wizard. They were a little afraid of Lily right now. Her parents told them she went away to a smart school. Of course Petunia did not like lying to the family at all. 'They will get used to it.' Lily thought.

"Lily!" Lily looked up to see Jeff hanging out his window. "Hang on! I want to talk to you." He left the window for a minute and then came back. "Where is my dad?" he called.

"He is discussing the fun weekend he is going to have with all of us."

"Maybe I'll just jump out the window."

"What! No!"

Too late. Jeff jumped out the window and sailed down softly to the ground. He landed on the soft snow in his long socks, sweat pants, and sweatshirt. Lily put her hands on her mouth and gasped.

"You really don't know that much about magic yet, do you?"

"Well I'm learning as fast as I can."

"That's what James tells me. Always studying, he says. He likes you a lot ya know."

"So I've heard."

"I just wanted to let you know that he is a nice boy and whatever he does, he tries to do what he thinks is right. I don't know if he will screw up in Hogwarts but I want to ask you a favor."

"What?"

"Keep an eye on him. I don't want him to turn out like me. Make sure he studies and stays in school."

"That will be hard. He looks up to you."

"Well he doesn't need to be me. I admit I didn't make the right choice leaving Hogwarts early. I don't want him to make the same mistake."

"I'll make sure he doesn't. He has a great big brother. No matter what his dad says." They laugh.

"I like you, Lily Evans. I hope you stay around James a long time." Jeff sighs. "Well I better get back upstairs so I can walk downstairs and face my dad's loving stares."

"I'll be in in a little bit. I'm enjoying the quiet."

"Alright. I'll come out and tell you when James wakes up but it might be a while. That boy can sleep forever."

Lily gives Jeff a quick smile as he ascends back up to his room. She definitely liked Jeff. He has a good heart like James and his mother. Unlike James' dad completely.


	33. Chapter 33

_James_

_Chapter 33_

_Oh what a beautiful morning! Well, afternoon. I like to sleep. This is a new day. Dad should have calmed down by now. I'm sure it's safe to go down. I wonder if Lily is up yet. She strikes me as a morning person. Yesterday was nuts. I really hope dad is a little more well mannered today. Why does he insist on ruining everything?_

James walked downstairs to peace and quiet which struck him as odd. His house is never quiet. His mother should be in the kitchen cleaning up breakfast and today was supposed to be Dad's day off. James walks into the kitchen to find his father sitting at the table drinking what appeared to be coffee from his favorite navy blue mug. Mr. Potter does not even look up at James.

"They went to the store to get food for the Christmas feast," Mr. Potter said in a level voice.

"Thanks," James replied. "Did Lily go with them?"

"I don't know."

"Thanks again, Dad." James started for the back door.

"Uh huh. No problem."

James gets outside and takes a deep breath. The air between him and his dad has always been thin since the 'incident', as his dad likes to call it, three years ago. His dad has not said much to him in a calm voice since. Always yelling.

"Deep in thought, huh?" James looks to his right to see Lily sitting on a bench. "Never a good sign in your case." James smiled.

"I thought you went to the store with Mum."

"I was half tempted to but leaving you in the house alone with your father didn't seem like a good idea to me."

"Thanks. Now I can talk to you." James sits down next to Lily. "So when are your parents coming in?"

"Well they said they would be here about three o'clock, so they'll be here at five."

"Are your parents always late?"

"No, just my sister. She doesn't like this whole magic thing. She thinks I'm abnormal now." Lily sighs. "She didn’t used to be that way though. It all started in middle school and just escalated from there."

"She seems selfish. I mean, she has a loving family. She should be grateful."

"Yeah, try telling her that. She'll just snuff at you and stick her head up in disgust." Lily laughs. "I just ignore and stay away from her."

"Well she should be scared of you. You're a witch. You could put a spell her or something."

"I'm too nice to do that. It just doesn't seem worth it."

"Well then I'll do it!" James stands. Lily grabs his hand and pulls him back down on the seat.

"Don't you dare! She is my sister and I can handle her!"

An awkwardness filled the air. James felt terrible. She is right. It is not his place to take care of her sister. He should not have said that.

"I'm sorry," James heard a voice say. But it was Lily's and not his own.

"Why are you sorry? I'm the one who should be sorry."

"I snapped at you. I promised I would behave myself."

"Who did you promise?"

"Myself." Lily sighed. "Anyway, we need to discuss Voldemort."

"What is there to discuss?"

"Don't you want to know why he wants us?"

"Because, apparently, we are the strongest wizards of our generation. Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"I don't know. I think there's something more to this puzzle." Lily shivers.

"You're safe."

"I know...I'm just....cold." James smiles.

"Alright. You wanna cuddle?" James moves closer. Lily pushes him away.

"In your dreams."

"Every night." Lily rolls her eyes.

"Don't you think you should go for another girl? Someone prettier who loves to talk about how your hair and her hair are perfect together?"

"My, my, Ms. Lily Evans. I am not that shallow."

"But you are shallow."

"I never said I wasn't."

"Never said you weren't what?" a voice called from their left. Jeff appeared out of nowhere.

"Shallow," Lily says.

"Oh you can say that again," Jeff chuckled.

"I never said I wasn't!" James complained.

"Chill, lover boy," Jeff coos mockingly, "I never said that you never said you weren't shallow."

"My boy is not shallow," Mrs. Potter called from behind Jeff.

"Thanks, Mum," James smiled happily.

"He's just picky," Mrs. Potter continued.

"Ah ha!" Lily exclaims, "The truth has now been spoken by the mother." Lily gets closer to James to say something more softly to him. "You can never beat a mother's words. It's impossible." Everyone laughs except James who fake pouted.

"Oh cheer up, chap," Jeff says smacking James on the back. "You can't be that upset."

"Oh quit being a baby," Lily states, "it's unattractive." James perked up at this. Jeff sent out a big deep hardy laugh.

"Oh, so I say cheer up and you still pout but if the girls says it's unattractive you perk up like it never happened." James just smiled.

"Exactly," James says in a relaxed voice.

"Before this turns into a mass discussion," Mrs. Potter says, "dinner will be ready by six. I assume, Lily, that your parents will be here by then."

"Oh that's plenty of time for them. Do you want me to help you make anything? I'm a pretty good cook if I do say so myself."

"Thank you, dear, I would love the help. It's nice to have a girl around the house."

Lily and Mrs. Potter head inside the house. Jeff watches them both and waits until he is sure they are occupied with something other than James and himself.

"You really like her."

"Of course I do. Why else would I be flirting?"

"No, James. I've seen you flirt. This is not flirting. This is you think you want to spend the rest of your life with her emotion, isn't it?" James stands.

"I don't know. She makes me so happy to be around and is humble."

"And she has a mouth to boot."

"Another reason why she is so great! I'm just confused."

"Ha. A girl has the great James Potter confused. That's a first."

"I know. I know." Jeff walks over to James and puts his arm around his shoulder.

"Let's go inside. It's freezing out here!"

They walk inside the door and the warmth overwhelms them. Before James enters, he looks over his shoulder. He thought he heard something in the trees. Nothing. He could have sworn he heard rustling. James hesitated a minute longer then headed into the house and closed the door.


	34. Chapter 34

Lily

Chapter 34

_Mrs. Potter is the sweetest woman I have ever met. No, the sweetest person. She works hard to keep everyone happy and raise her boys the best she can with an egotistical man. I just don’t understand how someone so sweet and giving could marry a crock like him._

 

          Lily assisted in cooking the Christmas Eve dinner, although she didn’t really need to do much since Mrs. Potter had so many things going on at once. She cast a spell a mixing bowl and just pointed her wand at anything that needed adding to the concoction. While she was doing this, a tray with the ham on it floated over to the oven where it slide in and began to cook. Then, all the dirty dishes flew to the sink which were cleaned with floating dish towels, dried, and floated to their respective places. Lily watched in amazement at Mrs. Potter’s ability to control all of it at once.

“I’m not sure I can be any help,” Lily said, still looking around the kitchen in awe.

“I don’t really need help,” Mrs. Potter replied, “but it is nice to have some female company in this house full of boys.” Lily smiled. “So, dear, how are you liking classes? Found anything interesting?”

“I have found everything interesting. So much better than my old school.”

“I’ve always been curious, how do schools work for muggles?”

“Well, we learn math, science, reading, and history, but I guess the muggle history is a bit different than the wizarding world’s.”

“I’m sure it is fairly close with a few minor changes. For example, the Salem Witch Trials were a real thing, although almost no real wizards or witches were caught. From what I’ve been told though, the ministry had a field day trying to end it as quickly as possible. It was hard keeping it from muggles at the time, let alone, when everyone was looking for it. Oh---Look at me, you don’t want a history lesson. Can I get you a cup of tea?”

“I can get it.”

“Nonsense!”  Mrs. Potter flicked her wand over to a cupboard and a kettle was put on the stove while cups and saucers flew to the table. Mrs. Potter winked at Lily then went back to cooking. Mr. Potter entered the room and glanced at Lily, then his wife, and back to Lily again. He nodded and proceeded to the door.

“I got called into work,” he said to Mrs. Potter, “so I’ll be home late. Something has come up. I don’t think the other boys will be home either.”

“What’s happened?” Mr. Potter glanced at Lily again. “Lily, would you give us a minute alone, dear?” Lily got up and walked out of the room. She went to her room and open then closed her door and snuck back to the top of the steps. She could barely hear the conversation.

“What do you mean, he’s made a move? Doesn’t he know it’s Christmas?”

“I don’t think he knows anything other than death.”

“Why is it always when we have family occasions, you have to go to work?”

“It’s not really my intention. It just happens. I can’t control him. It’s not like I could send him and owl and say, ‘hey, don’t kill anyone today, I have dinner with the family’.”

“Just go. I’ll entertain the Evan’s myself.” There was a crack and then silence. “You can stop hiding at the top of the stairs now.” Lily jumped but composed herself almost immediately. She should have known a witch could sense when someone was spying on her. Lily entered the kitchen and Mrs. Potter gave her a look of disappointment. “It looks like it’ll just be your family and the three Potters tonight.” She went back to work on the food, checking the ham in the oven and looking over the pots boiling on the stove.

“I have to know, and I hope you don’t find this rude, but how…” Mrs. Potter interrupted her.

“I know what you’re going to say, but believe me, it wasn’t always this way. Before James, he was a great person. It doesn’t appear that way now but he was the best person I knew. Always kind, generous and he was great with the boys. Then this whole mess with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named showed up and everything changed. Before Jeff turned eight and James two, this stupid war happened. The ministry is trying to keep it under wraps saying everything is under control, but it’s not. We all hide in fear that one day, he will find us. Before all of this though, he was just like James and Jeff. It all changed him into someone I don’t even know anymore…” She had a look in her eyes of sadness then there was a glint of realization. “I’m sorry that this is turning out to be a terrible winter break.”

“It’s not at all. I’ve learned so much about the wizarding world just by the couple weeks I’ve been here. It’s been nice to get away from my sister and all her friends, my family, and muggles. I needed this more than I realized.” Mrs. Potter smiled and gave Lily a nod of appreciation. Lily felt good about what she said, and it was true as well. She had learned much about the wizarding world that school wasn’t teaching her.

There was a knock at the door, Mrs. Potter hustled out of her apron. “That must be your family.” She ran to the door and as she did so, she fixed her hair. She reached the door and took a deep breath, Lily standing behind her. The door opened and there were Lily’s parents, just Lily’s parents.

“Where’s Petunia?” I asked. They looked at each other.

“She made plans to have dinner with friends,” Mrs. Evans said then quickly added, “But she wanted to be here.”

“Sure,” Lily said disappointed. She turned on her heels and ran for the backdoor. 


End file.
